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FIFTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION, SENATE REPORT NO. 166. 



THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE PARK SYSTEM 
OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



1.— KEPORT OV THE^SENATE COMMITTEE ON THE 
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

II.— REPORT OF THE PARK COMMISSION. 



EDITED BY 

CHARLES MOORE, 

CLERK OP THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 

1902. 




NO. 20.— BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF GENERAL PLAN, FROM POINT TAKEN 4,000 FEET A iOVE ARLINGTON, 



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Transfer 
Engineers School Liby. 

June 29, 1S31 



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TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



Page. 

Report of the Senate Committee on the District of Columbia 7 

Senate resolution ordering a report on the park system 7 

Necessity of a comprehensive plan 7 

Appointment of a Commission 8 

The problem stated ■. 10 

The original plan of Washington 11 

Opinions of Government oflficers on the Commission 13 

The railroad problem 14 

Character of the plans IG 

Models and illustrations 17 

Concentration of authority 18 

Report of the Park Commission 23 

Changes in the Mall 23 

Improvements accomplished ^ 2-1 

Washington as a capital city 25 

Climatic conditions of Washington • 26 

The necessity of fountains 27 

Public baths and gymnasiums 28 

Location of public buildings 28 

A union railroad station 29 

The iNIall system 35 

The Capitol division 37 

Union Square 41 

The Mall 43 

The Washington Monument division 47 

The Washington Common 49 

The Lincoln memorial 51 

The Memorial Bridge, .Ynalostan Island, and the National Cemetery at Arlington 55 

The Memorial Bridge 55 

The treatment of Arlington Cemetery 58 

The grouping of the buildings of the Executive Departments 63 

The area south of Pennsylvania avenue 69 

The distribution of the parks 75 

Topography of the District of Columbia 76 

The need for additional parks 77 

Treatment of minor reservations 79 

Playgrounds 81 

The larger parks and their connections , 83 

Potomac quay 83 

Rock Creek parkway 85 

Zoological Park 87 

Rock Creek Park 88 

The section west of Rock Creek 91 

Fort Reno Park 91 

Soapstone parkway 92 

Receiving reservoir 94 

Potomac drive 9^ 

Fort Kemble Park 97 

Battery Parrott 97 

Georgetown parkwav 97 

3 



4 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

Page. 

The section east of Rock Creek 99 

Soldiers' Home grounds 100 

Howard University reservoir 101 

Eckington parkway 101 

Patterson Park 102 

Mount Hamilton parkway 103 

Mount Hamilton Park 103 

Anacostia water park 105 

The Fort drive 111 

The Anacostia section 113 

Giesboro parkway 114 

Anacostia embankment 115 

Washington embankment and Potomac Park 117 

The Mount Vernon road 121 

Conclusion 123 

Appendix A, public bathing places 125 

Public bath, Revere Beach, Massachusetts , 127 

Public bath, Brookline, Mass 128 

Appendix B, relation of the Anacostia dam to tidal scour 131 

Appendix C, a letter relative to the proposed treatment of Anacostia Park 133 

Appendix D, a comparison of alternative plans for the treatment of Rock Creek valley 137 

Appendix E, botanical collection 143 

Appendix F, list of drawings, designs, and models illustrating the report of the Commission on 

the Improvement of the Park System of the District of Columbia 147 

Appendix G, list of lands in the District of Columbia devoted to public use 155 

Appendix H, list of proposed additional reservations 167 

Appendix I, proposed additions to existing parks 169 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Note. — The numbers on the plates refer to the pictures in the exhibition: See Appendix F. 

Bird's-eye view of general plan, from point taken 4.000 feet above Arlington Frontispiece. 

Rock Creek, looking north from under M street bridge, showing possibility of seclusion from 

disagreeable surroundings facing 10 

Rock Creek, looking south from P street, showing encroachments on the valley, by dumping, 

and agreeable tree growth still standing facing 11 

Model of the Mall, showing present conditions, looking east lacing 17 

Model of the Mall, showing present conditions, looking west facing 17 

Model of the Mall, showing treatment proposed, looking west facing 23 

Model of the Mall, showing treatment proposed, looking east facing 23 

Water jets of the great terrace, Vaux-le-Vicomte, work of Lenotre 25 

Petite cascades, Vaux-le-Vicomte, work of Lenotre 26 

Fountain In front of Villa Medici, Rome, suggesting the public value of hilltops wisely 

treated faci ng 26 

Fountain, Barbarinl Palace, Rome facing 26 

Fountain, Piazza Di Termini, Rome facing 26 

Fountain, Farnese Palace, Rome facing 26 

Fountain, Piazza del Quirinale, Rome facing 26 

Palace and garden of the Luxembourg. Paris. A public garden enriched but not confused .facing 26 
Versailles— Avenue in the park, suggesting the shaded walks of the proposed monument 

grove facing 26 

Basin of Neptune, Versailles facing 26 

Basin of Apollo, Versailles, showing the tapis vert, with road on either side facing 26 

Basin of Latona, Versailles, showing tapis vert, with side roads and general greensward, and 

great canal beyond facing 26 

Basin and great canal, Fontainebleau, suggestive of the treatment of the canals west of the 

monument facing 26 

Fountain, Vaux-le-Vicomte i 27 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 5 

Page. 

Proposed new union station ^ facing 29 

Interior view of the proposed new union station facing 29 

Fountain, Vaux-le-Vicomte 30 

On tlTe Pincian Hill, Rome 31 

View of the Capitol, as seen from the Mall facing 37 

Section through Capitol, east and west facing 37 

View showing proposed treatment of basin, terraces, and Capitol approaches, head of Mall, .facing 37 
The Capitol, west elevation, showing proposed terrace, restoration of the Bulfinch gates and 

boundary fence, fountains, and approaches facing 37 

Bulfinch Gatehouse, formerly on Capitol grounds 39 

View showing the proposed treatment of Union Square, at the head of the Mall facing 41 

View of the Mall from Sixth street facing 43 

View of the Monument seen from the Mall at Fourteenth street, looking west facing 44 

Avenue de Beaumont, Compiegne. The type of vist i without a roadway facing 45 

Avenue at Cirencester, England. A mall divided by a central roadway facing 45 

Washington, looking south from the White House facing 47 

Section through Monument gardens, on White House axis, showing proposed treatment of 

approaches and terraces forming a setting for the Washington Monument facing 47 

Section through Monument garden, on ('apitol axis, looking toward White House facing 47 

Section through Mall at Fifteenth street, looking west, showing Monument approaches and ter- 
races facing 47 

Section through canal, looking east, on White House axis, showing proposed treatment of 

approaches and terraces, forming a setting for the Monument facing 47 

Model of the Monument garden 1 47 

General view of the Monument garden and Mall, looking toward the Capitol facing 48 

Plan showing proposed treatment of the Monument garden 48 

View of the Monument and terraces from the White House facing 49 

View in the Monument garden, main axis, showing proposed treatment of approaches and 

terraces, forming a setting for the Washington Monument, looking east facing 49 

View from the Monument terrace, looking toward Arlington facing 49 

View of the terrace and Monument garden, looking east facing 49 

View in Monument garden, main axis, showing proposed treatment of approaches and terraces, 

forming a setting for the Washington Monument facing 49 

View in the Monument garden, looking toward the White House facing 49 

View of the proposed memorial structin-e on the axis of the White House, looking south . . .facing 49 
View of the Washington common and public playgroinids, showing proposed memorial building, 

baths, theater, gymnasium, and athletic buildings facing 49 

One of the six pavilions in the Monument garden 49 

View of terrace from base of Monument 50 

View showing the proposed development of the site for the Lincoln Memorial, seen from the 

Washington Monument facing 61 

View of the Lincoln Memorial site from the old Naval Observatory facing 51 

Plan showing proposed treatment of the Lincoln memorial site facing 51 

View showing the proposed development of the Lincoln memorial site, seen from the canal . .facing 51 

Section of Lincoln memorial 52 

Proposed development of Lincoln memorial site, seen from Riverside drive facing 57 

Memorial walk, Thiergarten, Berlin facing 58 

Bird's-eye view of general plan, from a point taken 4,000 feet above the Government Hospital for 

the Insane facing 63 

Bulfinch Gatepost, formerly on Capitol grounds 71 

Temple, Villa Borghese, Rome. The architectural accent of a shaded vista facing 75 

Riverside Park, wading pool, Hartford, Conn facing 79 

In the girl's gymnasium, Charles bank, Boston facing 80 

Water basin at the Villa Medici, Rome 80 

Children's sand piles, Charles bank, Boston facing 81 

Open-air restaurant in the Prater, Vienna 81 

Open-air gymnasium, Charles River embankment, Boston facing 82 

Le Pont Neuf and quays, Paris 83 

Quays and Corso, Budapest • facing 84 

Typical treatment of Potomac quay 84 

The boulevard of the Republic, Algiers, shownig wide commercial quays and storage spaces 

below the boulevard facing 85 

Typical section of Rock Creek parkway. Alternative project with covered channel 85 

Rock Creek, lookmg north from M street bridge, showing landscape value of the open-water sur- 
face and the foliage of the valley, and indicating the disagreeable character of the high-level 

surroundings facing 86 

Typical section of Rock Creek parkway— Treatment recommended 86 



Q LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Page. 
Valley of Rock Creek Zoological Park - - - ■ - • ■ ■ - ■ - - - - •■--■■•■ :" :-_:;;;;„^tTf ^^ 



Fort Reno. View to the northeast, showing the necessity for controlling adjacent private prop- 
erty if view is to be preserved • - - - ". Z^'^!"^ 

Fort Reno View to the west. The fence is the limit of the present public ownership facing 92 

Typical section of one of the valley parkways, snch as Piney Branch, Soapstone Creek, and ^^ 

Georgetown parkways ; ■ ; " : ' ' 

The Potomac above the Aqueduct Bridge, from the level of the proposed drive, showing necessity 

for public control of the slopes below the driveway -■•--- "-'^."''f 

Terrace, Villa d' Este, Tivoli, .showing how a declivity commanding a view is used and emphasized, 

not disguised "' '. „ . 

Cabin John Bridge, a portion of the Washington Aqueduct system taemg 94 

Typical section of Potomac drive a short distance above Aqueduct Bridge - y^ 

View from the terraces, St. Germain, Paris. Comparable with the view from the proposedjer- ^_ 

races near Tenley Circle acmg o 

Typical section of Potomac drive below the Chain Bridge ---■-■- ^'^ 

The Great Falls of the Potomac at a low stage of the river lacing ^yb 

Section of Savannah parkway ^^^ 

Vista, Villa Albani, Rome ,' ' '■"," '^' V V " "v 

Anacostia marshes from Benning Bridge, looking north, showing malarial flats to ^^'^ ^.^^^'J^"- ^^^ 

Amtcostia"maVsh;s,"VhowingVslands" of "free" growth to be saved by the proposed method of 

improvement, from Benning Bridge, looking north lacing lUb 

Oxford— Racing on the Iris - ^^^ 

Henlev— A suggestion of Anacostia Park f',\,Z n-^ 

Quays and bridges, Budapest. Buda side of the Danube ....-racin^ iid 

Nantes place of the Duchess Anne, showing quays and comprehensive treatment ol approach 

; ^ tacmg 114 

to bridffG ...._---.. ......-.----•--------------"•"'••""*"'* 

Terrace, VenVceVillustrative of water-front treatment in connection with formal design lU 

The quays at Venice.... ."//.'.faViiig in 

The Washington channel _. 

Potomac Park, from the Washington iMonument ■ ■"'' » 

Panorama of the city of Washington from Anacostia; typical of views from the proposed^ndge ^^^ 

R^vx^re Beach, 'near Boston. What the people think of its value Jaf^lJ-g J^^ 

Swimming pool, Garfield Park, Chicago ^"|J^ ^;^ 

Revere Beach public bath house, near Boston s - 

Public bath, town of Brookline, Mass 

Bridge across the riverway, Boston park system -■-•- --■ 

Piazza del Popolo, Rome, a commanding situation wisely treated tor the enjoyment ol the 
people 



127, 128 
facing 140 



.facing 141 



LIST OF MAPS AND PLANS. 



fRcinsf 12 

L'Enfant map of Washington (1791) ■ - - ; ■ • ■ ■; • ". fa^inu- 9s 

Diagram of a portion of the city, showing proposed sites for future public buildings lacing -^ 

General plan of the Mall system ' g. 

Key to Mall system gy 

Plan of Capitol grounds, by L'Enfant (1791) 

Plan of Capitol grounds, by Thornton, Architect of the Capitol (1803) V ' '■' " mn 

Plan for Savannah parkway ; "■'■ , , 

comparison between the present and proposed park areas of the District of Columbia and^the ^__ 

park areas of Boston, New York, London, and Pans ■ '':''"' ''',l„,.,^t 

Map of the District of Columbia, showing public reservations and possessions and the P^^^^-^J'^^ ^.^ 

M^apTthl 'msSlVcolumbh^iVhowing aVearrecommended to be taken as ^'^'^^'''''^^J^^^^J^^'^^ ^.^ 

parks and park connections ' 

Map of the District . f Columbia, showing public reservations and possessions and areas reconv 
*^ - , -T 1- — *'"'^'*tions ioiio\>iii5 i- 1 L 



me 



nded to be taken as necessary for new parks and park connect 



REPORT OF THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON THE DISTRICT 
OF COLUMBIA ON THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE PARK 
SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



M 



R. McMillan, from the Committee on the District of 
Cohmibia, on the 15th day of January, 1902, presented the 
following- report: 
The Committee on the District of Columbia, acting- under instructions 
of the Senate embodied in the resolution adopted March 8, 1901 — 

Resolved, That the Committee on the District of Columbia be, and it is hereby, 
directed to consider the subject and report to the Senate plans for the development 
and improvement of the entire park system of the District of Columbia. For the 
purpose of preparing such plans the committee may sit during the recess of Congress, 
and may secure the services of such experts as may be necessary for a proper con- 
sideration of the subject. The expenses of such investigation shall be paid from the 
contingent fund of the Senate — 

respectf ull}^ report ; 

The desirability of a comprehensive plan for the development of the 
District of Columbia has long been felt by Congress. During- the past 
Necessity of a com- ^®^ years particularl}^ questions have arisen as to the 
prehensiTe plan. location of public buildings, of preserving spaces for 
parks in the portions of the District beyond the limits of the city of 
Washington, of connecting and developing existing parks by attractive 
drives, and of providing for the recreation and health of a constantly 
growing population; and, in the absence of a well-considered plan, the 
solution of these grave problems has either been postponed or else has 
resulted in compromises that have marred the beauty and dignity of 

the national capital. 

I. 

The action of the Senate in ordering a comprehensive plan for the 

development of the entire park system of the District of Columbia is 

^^ ^ , ^ the resultant of two movements— one popular in char- 

The Senate orders ^ ^ 

the preparation of a acter, the Other technical. In October, 1898, the 

plan. 

citizens of the District of Columbia began to arrange 
for the celebration, two years later, of the one hundredth anniversary 

7 



8 PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

of the removal of the seat of government to the District of Colmnbia. 
The project, being- national in character rather than local, was brought 
to the attention of the President, and by him was laid before Congress, 
with the result that a joint committee of the two Houses was appointed 
to act with the citizen's committee in planning the celebration. In 
December, 1900, commemorative exercises, held at the White House 
and at the Capitol, were participated in by the Governors of the 
States as well as by the officials of the General Government and the 
representatives of foreign powers; and the celebration was brought to 
an appropriate end by a reception and banquet given by the Wash- 
ington Board of Trade in honor of the Congressional committee and the 
distinguished guests. 

The keynote of the celebration was the improvement of the District 
of Columbia in a manner and to an extent commensurate with the dig- 
nity and the resources of the American nation. Senators and Con- 
gressmen vied with Governor after Governor in commendation of the 
idea put forward by the local committee, that the time had come for 
the systematic and adequate improvement of the District of Columbia.' 
While the centennial exercises were in progress the American Insti- 
tute of Architects, in session in this city, was discussing the subject 
of improving Washington; and in a series of papers making sugges- 
tions for the development of parks and the placing of public buildings, 
the tentative ideas of a number of the leading architects, sculptors, and 
landscape architects of the country were put forward for discussion.' 
As a result the Institute appointed a committee on legislation, and 
consultations between that committee and the Senate Committee on 
the District of Columbia were followed by the order of the Senate for 
the preparation and submission of a general plan for the development 
of the entire park system of the District. 

II. 

On March 19, 1901, the subcommittee of the District committee hav- 
ing the matter in charge met the representatives of the American 
, / , , Institute of Architects and agreed to the proposition 

The appolntnieiit of j> r^w 

a Commission. of the latter that Mr. Daniel H. Burnham, of Chicago, 

Illinois, and Mr. Frederick Law Olmsted, jr., of Brookline, Massa- 

1 Senate Document No. 210, Fifty-sixth Congress, second session. 

2 Papers relating to the improvement of the city of Washington, December 19, 1900, 
ordered to be printed by the Senate. 



THE PARK COMMISSION. 9 

chusetts, be empioyed as experts, with power to add to their number. 
These gentlemen accepted the task, and subsequently invited Mr. 
Charles F. McKim and Mr. Augustus St. Gaudens, of New York City, 
to act with them in the preparation of plans. ^ The committee con- 
siders itself most fortunate in having- secured the services of men 
who had won the very hig'hest places in their several professions. 

As Director of Works at the World's Columbian Exposition, held 
in the city of Chicag'o in the year 1893, Mr. Burnham was instru- 
mental in securing the adoption of a scheme of construction which 
placed that exhibition in the very front rank of international exposi- 
tions; and by the display of rare executive abilit}^ he brought about 
and maintained the effective cooperation of the architects and artists 
who then and there gave to American art both a new direction and a 
tremendous impetus. 

As the architect of the Boston Public Library, tne Rhode Island 
capitol, the new buildings and the fence at Harvard University, and 
other structures of monumental character, Mr. McKim is recognized 
in his profession as without a superior among American architects, 
his work being especially notable for its simplicity, directness, and 
scholarly qualities. 

Mr. St. Gaudens, by common consent, stands first among American 
sculptors; and among architects and artists his criticisms have the 
authority of law. 

Mr. Olmsted bears a name identified with what is best in modern land- 
scape architecture in the District of Columbia. He is the consulting 
landscape architect not onl}^ of the vast sj^stem of parks and boulevards 
which make up the metropolitan park system of Boston and its suburbs, 
but also of large parks in various cities. To Inherited taste he adds 
the highest training, both practical and theoretical. 

At the call of their professional brethren and at the request of this 
committee these men virtually put aside their large and profitable pri- 
vate work and for nearly a year devoted their time, their experience, 
and their technical training to the service of the nation. These sacri- 
fices they have made without pecuniary reward, and at a time in the 
professional careers of the majorit}^ of them when success and fame 
were already secure. Not only is the nation fortunate in having 
obtained the ripest talents of three such distinguished men, but also 

^ The full report of this meeting is to be found in Park Improvement Papers, No. 3, 
printed for the use of the Senate Committee on the District of Columbia. 



10 PAEK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

it is a matter for satisfaction that the fourth member of the Commis- 
sion enters upon the work at an age when he may be expected to 
have a part in directing- and shaping the development ot the ^.lans 
from the beginning to the end. 

III. 
At the first meeting between the experts-who for convenience have 
been named the Park Commission-and the subcommittee of the Dis- 
trict committee^ the problem was stated to the Commission by the 
chairman substantially as follows: 

The District of Columbia was created as the seat of government ot 
the United States, and Washington was laid out as distinctively a 
capital city. The first consideration m its planning 
The problem stated. ^^^ ^^^ location of the public buildiugs and the 
gromids relating to them. In determining these locations each site 
was selected in reference to every other site; the lines of communi- 
cation between the various Departments were studied, and care was 
taken to provide not alone for convenience but also for beauty and 
dignity. The original plan of the city of Washington, having stood 
the test of a century, has met universal approval. The departures 
from that plan are to be regretted and, wherever possible, remedied. 
The reclamation of the Potomac flats has added to the public grounds 
a considerable area, one portion of which must be treated as a con- 
tinuation of the Mall and the Monument grounds, while the section 
lying in the river opposite the Washington Channel is susceptible of 

individual treatment. . j i a 

In 1889 Congress provided for the purchase of one hundred and 
seventy acres of land in the valley of Rock Creek for the purpose 
of establishing the iNational Zoological Park; and the next year a 
special act was passed authorizing the purchase of two thousand addi- 
tional acres extending from the northern boundaries of the Zoological 
Park to the District line. The amount of land actually acquired under 
the provisions of this act was one thousand six hundred and five and 
nine-tenths acres. This territory, beautified by nature, is undevel- 
oped, save for a few roads, the location of which was obvious; and 
before the public can realize fully the advantages of the purchase 
Rock Creek Park must be improved according to a systematic plan 

prepared by landscape architects. _^______ 

^This subcommittee consisted of Senators McMillan, Gallinger, and Martin. See 
Park Improvement Papers, No. 3. 



PKOPOSED PAEKS AND PARKWAYS. 11 

The Anacostia flats, comprising about eleven hundred acres, impera- 
tivel}" demand reclamation, in order to free the eastern portion of the 
city from the malarial conditions which for years have seriously 
retarded the development of that section and have constantly impaired 
the health of those persons who have been compelled to live within 
the miasmal influences. Congress, recognizing the deplorable condi- 
tions to which thousands of people either in its employ or under its 
care are thus of necessit}^ subjected, caused to be made a surve}^ and 
estimates of cost of the reclamation of these flats, ^ and it is believed 
that the time has now come to enter upon this work with the view to 
create a water park. In this manner can the park needs of the District 
best be subserved, and at the smallest expense. 

The valley of Rock Creek from the mouth of that stream to the Zoo- 
logical Park is unsightl}^ to the verge of ugliness. Congress has had 
the situation studied with a view to finding a solution of the difiiculty, 
either b}^ covering the creek entirely or by creating a parkway through 
the valley. The need of a definite plan of treatment is shown in a 
striking manner by the fact that on the line of Connecticut avenue a 
bridge is in course of construction; while on the line of Massachusetts 
avenue a culvert is building, the obvious intention being to fill the 
entire valley southward to the mouth of the creek. A decision should 
be reached as to whether the creek is to be covered or is to remain 
open, and also as to the treatment of the space in either case. 

The development of Potomac and Eock Creek parks, the creation of 
a park along the Anacostia, and the increasing use of the Soldiers' 
Home grounds for park purposes, all call for a study of connections 
among the parks, so as to bring into one S3^stem the diversified attrac- 
tions which these public spaces will offer when adequatelj^ developed. 
The positive squalor which to-day mars the entrance to almost every 
public park is too apparent to need discussion. 

IV. 

Aside from the pleasure and the positive benefits to health that the 

people derive from public parks, in a capital cit}^ like AVashington 

The original plan of there is a distiuct use of public spaces as the indis- 

M'ashington. i , £ ' • i- •. j^ /^^ 

pensabie means of giving dignit}^ to Government 
buildings and of making suitable connections between the great 

^ House of Representatives Executive Document No. 30, Fifty-second Congress, 
first session, report of Lieut. P. C. Hains, and House of Representatives Document 
No. 87, Fifty-fifth Congress, third session, report of Col. C. J. Allen. 



12 PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

departments. When the city of Washington was planned under the 
direct and minute supervision of Washington and Jefferson, the rela- 
tions that should subsist between the Capitol and the President's 
House were closely studied. Indeed the whole city was planned with 
a view to the reciprocal relations that should exist among public 
buildings. Vistas and axes; sites for monuments and museums; parks 
and pleasure gardens; fountains and canals; in a word, all that goes 
to make a city a magnificent and consistent work of art were regarded 
as essentials in the plans made by L'Enfant under the direction of the 
first President and his Secretary of State. 

Nor were these original plans prepared without due study of great 
models. The stately art of landscape architecture had been brought 
oversea by royal governors and wealthy planters; and both Wash- 
ington and Jefferson were familiar with the practice of that art. 
L'Enfant, a man of position and education, and an engineer of ability, 
must have been familiar with those great works of the master Lenotre 
which are still the admiration of the traveler and the constant pleasure 
of the French people. Moreover, from his well-stocked library Jeffer- 
son sent to L'Enfant plans "on a large and accurate scale" of Paris, 
Amsterdam, Frankfort, Carlsruhe, Strasburg, Orleans, Turin, Milan, 
and other European cities, at the same time felicitating himself that 
the President had "left the planning of the town in such good hands." 

The object of the present investigation is to prepare for the city of 
Washington such a plan as shall enable future development to proceed 
along the lines originally planned — namely, the treatment of the city 
as a work of civic art — and to develop the outlying parks as portions 
of a single well-considered system. 

V. 

The nature and scope of the work having been outlined to the 

Commission, they entered upon their task not without hesitation and 

misgivings. The problem was both difficult and com- 

The work broadens. i -, r i i 

plex. Much had to be done; much, also, must be 
undone. Moreover, no sooner was the membership of the Commis- 
sion announced than their aid and advice was sought in relation to 
buildings and memorials under consideration, so that immediately the 
range of the work broadened. Thus the importance and usefulness 
of the Commission were enhanced. 
The cordial reception which the Commission have met from the 



OPINIONS OF CABINET OFFICERS. 13 

highest oificials of the Government and the opportunities of useful- 
ness that have been opened to its members are alike significant and 
gratifying, n With the approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and 
the Secretary of the Treasury, the Supervising Architect consulted the 
Commission at every stage in the selection of an architect for and the 
location of the new building for the Department of Agriculture.^ The 
Secretar}^ of War, under whose supervision the public buildings and 
grounds of the city come, was moved to say in his latest annual report: 

The many duties of the War Department in relation to the pubUc buildings and 
grounds of AVashington and to the statues and memorials authorized or proposed lay 
Congress have brought the Department into frequent conference with the Com- 
mission selected by the Senate Committee on the District of Columbia to prepare 
plans for the development of the park system of the District, consisting of Messrs. 
Daniel H. Burnham, Charles F. McKim, and Frederick Law Olmsted, jr., w'ho 
have now associated with them Mr. Augustus St. Gaudens. In admirable spirit that 
Commission seeks to restore and develop the original designs of President Washing- 
ton and L' Enfant, and the plans which they are about to present for the work to be 
done hereafter in making the capital city more beautiful have the hearty approval 
and symjiathy of the War Department, and will, if they shall happily be adopted, 
have that Department's cordial cooperation. 

The Attornej^-General, in referring to the proposed building for the 
Department of Justice, says in his annual report for 1901: 

No building should be constructed except such as will meet the just expectations 
not only of the present but of future generations. The building should be worthy 
of the purpose to which it is to be devoted and of the Government whose dignity it in 
part represents. In this connection due regard should be had to the general plan 
for the adornment of Washington, which is now under consideration by a competent 
Commission. Washington has become a city not only of cosmopolitan dignity but 
of exceptional beauty, and no building should be so constructed or located as to mar 
the symmetry of its development. 

The Commissioners of the District of Columbia and the officials 
connected with their office have given repeated and cordial assurance 
of their interest in a systematic development of the park system of 
the District, not only b}^ consultations, but also by placing the 
resources of their office at the disposal of the Commission. In their 
annual report the District Commissioners say: 

An important expression of the new feeling in Congress respecting the District of 
Columbia was the creation, at the extraordinary session of the Senate, in March last, 

^The Park Commission, acting with the Supervising Architect of the Treasury 
Department, approved the programme of competition, named ten firms of architects 
who competed, and made the award, selecting the design submitted by Messrs. Lord 
& Hewlett, of New York City. 



14 PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

under the authority of a Senate resolution, by the Committee on the District of 
Columbia, of a Commission of eminent architects and landscape engineers to prepare 
a general plan for improvement of the park system of the District of Columbia. 
The Commissioners of the District of Columbia have been glad to act in cooperation 
with this Commission, and trust that its project for beautifying of the national capital 
will be adopted by Congress as the working plan for the years to come. For years 
the Commissioners of the District of Columbia and other public officers, and the 
citizens of the District, have been hoping that such a comprehensive scheme of 
improvement of the park system, and therefore of the whole District, would be 
adopted, in order that its sesthetic development might be made harmonious and 
complete and in accordance with the best ideals. 

To the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, the Superintendent 
of the Coast Survey, the Officer in Charge of Public Buildings and 
Grounds, and the officers of the Corps of Engineers engaged on the 
improvement of the Potomac River Front the Commission are under 
obligations for assistance and information without which their labors 
must have been prolonged indefinitely, if not entirely defeated. The 
representative bodies of the citizens of the District of Columbia and 
the press also have given encouragement and support to the work, 
and have furnished suggestions of great value because based on expe- 
rience of the needs of the people. 

VI. 

After a detailed examination of the topographical features of the 

District of Columbia, the Commission drew up preliminary plans. 

They were then forced to the conclusion that an ade- 

The railroad problem. , , i i J.^ 

quate treatment of the park system depends upon the 
exclusion of the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad from public grounds, 
so as to allow that dignified approach to the Capitol for which the 
Mall was originally designed. 

The occupation of the Mall by the railroad dates back to 1872, 
at which time, in order to secure competition in freight and pas- 
senger traffic, the then local government of the District of Columbia 
granted the lands, and subsequently Congress confirmed the grant.' 
In extenuation of the original occupation, it may be urged that the 
space was then no better than a common pasture and that the railroad 

1 The board of aldermen and the board of common council granted the Mall site 
to the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad on March 20, 1871. See Evening Star, 
March 21, 1871, for report of proceedings. This action by the District authorities 
was confirmed by act of Congress approved May 21, 1872; chapter 189, Statutes at 
Large, Forty-second Congress, second session. 



THE RAILEOAD PROBLEM. 15 

but took the place of the canal which it paralleled; so that conditions 
were improved b}'^ the change, as undoubtedh' proved to be the case. 
Be that as it may, the railroad holds the right to use the property 
by a title good in law and in equit}^; and by virtue of a recent act of 
Congress the railroad space has been enlarged, in consideration of the 
surrender of street trackage and the proposed elevation of the tracks 
within the citj^ of Washington. 

It so happened that the chairman of the Commission, Mr. Burnham, 
is the architect of the Pennsylvania Railroad's new station at Pittsburg, 
and he had also drawn for the Pennsylvania Railroad the preliminary 
plans for the Baltimore and Potomac station in Washington. After 
consultation with the subcommittee, Mr. Burnham proposed to the 
president of the Pennsylvania Railroad that the station be built on the 
south side of the Mall and lands adjoining. The architectural and 
other advantages of the proposed site were set forth with such vigor as 
to command serious consideration. There the matter rested for a time. 

The Commission, in order to make a closer study of the practice of 

landscape architecture as applied to parks and public buildings, made 

a brief trip to Europe, visiting Rome, Venice, Vienna, 

European studies. 

Budapest, Paris, London, and their suburbs. Atten- 
tion was directed principally to ascertaining what arrangement of 
park areas best adapts them to the uses of the people, and what are 
the elements that give pleasure from generation to generation, and 
even from centur}- to century. The many and striking results of this 
stud}^ will appear in the discussions that follow. 

It was during the stay of the Commission in London that President 
Cassatt announced to Mr. Burnham his willingness to consider the 
question, not of moving the Baltimore and Potomac station to the south 
side of the Mall, but of withdrawing altogether from that region and 
uniting with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Compan}^ in the erec- 
tion of a union station on the site established by legislation for the 
new depot of that road, provided suitable legislation be secured to 
make compensation for the increased expense such a change would 
involve, and provided, also, that the approaches to the new site be 
made worthy of the building the railroads propose to erect. 

Subsequent examination convinced the Commission that, from an 

aesthetic standpoint, there are insuperable objections to the depot site 

provided by law. The chief objection is that were the 

The union station. . . 

station to front on C street a train shed eight hundred 
feet wide would be thrown across Massachusetts avenue, one of the 



16 PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

great thoroughfares of the city. Not only would the vistas be blocked 
by a commercial building, but also the street would be carried under- 
neath this enormous structure in a tunnel so long as to cause the 
avenue to be avoided bj^ traffic. The Commission thereupon proposed 
a site fronting on Massachusetts avenue, and again the officials of the 
railroad company consented to a change of location. 

The plans call for a station eight feet and eight inches longer than 
the Capitol, the building to be of white marble, the fapade to be Roman 
in style of architecture, and the construction and arrangements to be 
so planned as to make this station superior to an}^ structure ever 
erected for railwa}^ purposes. Facing the Capitol, and yet not too 
near that edifice, the new station will front upon a plaza six hundred 
feet in width and twelve hundred feet in length, where bodies of 
troops or large organizations can be formed during inaugural times or 
on other like occasions. Thus located and constructed, the union depot 
will be in reality the great and impressive gatewa}^ to Washington. 

It should be said here that in considering the views of the Commis- 
sion, and in reaching his decision, the president of the Pennsylvania 
Railroad looked at the matter from the standpoint of an American 
citizen, saying in substance that he appreciated the fact that if Con- 
gress intended to make of the Mall what the founders of the city 
intended it to be, no railroad should be allowed to cross it; and that he 
was willing to vacate the space provided the matter could be arranged 
without sacrificing the interests of the stockholders of the Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad.^ 

VII. 

This conditional consent on the part of the railroad removed the one 
great obstacle to the preparation of adequate plans for the improve- 
ment of the city. Lesser obstacles, such as the lack of survevs of the 
oldest parks in the District and the difficulties of getting together 
the widely scattered data, have been surmounted. On the other hand, 
the work has been much lightened by the excellent topographical maps 
of the District outside of the city, prepared by the Coast and Geodetic 
Surv^e}". 

The plans prepared by the Commission and submitted to the Senate 
with this report are the most comprehensive ever provided for the 
The character of the development of an American city. Every portion of 
P^*""*- the District of Columbia has been studied; in the out- 

lying sections those spaces best adapted for parks, both small and 
1 See Senate bill No. 4825, Report No. 982, Fifty-sixth Congress. 



t-^ 



wawi— 




NO. 34 —MODEL OF THE MAUL. SHOWING PRESENT CONOlTrONS. LOOKING EAST. 



COMPREHENSIVENESS OF THE PLAN. 17 

larg'e, have been marked; the most convenient and the most pictur- 
esque connections between the various parks have been mapped; the 
individual treatment which each particular important park should 
undergo is recommended; an extension of the park svsteni to Great 
Falls and to Mount Vernon is discussed; the development of the 
Mall receives detailed and elaborate treatment; the location of new 
T3ublic buildings, whether legislative, executive, or municipal in char- 
acter, has been arranged according to a rational system of grouping; 
and those memorials which mark great epochs or great crises in our 
national history have been brought into harmonious relations with the 
general scheme of development. 

As a result of this comprehensive treatment every considerable 
undertaking within the District may be brought into the general plan 
and made to contribute its part to enhancing value of the whole. 
More than this, no such undertaking should be allowed to invade, to 
mutilate, or to mar the symmetry, simplicity, and dignity of the one 
great composition designed to comprehend the entire District of 

Columbia. 

VIII. 

In working out the plans the Commission found it necessary to 
have prepared two models, one showing the existing disturbed condi- 
Modeis and iUustra- tions in the scction from the Library of Congress 
westward to the Potomac, and the other showing the 
arrangement proposed. These models, constructed with the utmost 
attention to the details of topography, are accurate maps of the 
section they so graphically depict. Not only are they absolutely 
essential to the designers, but they are also the guides in carrying 
the plans to completion. So that, as the years pass, those persons 
who may be charged with the task of improvement will be under no 
uncertainty as to the particular treatment intended,^ A third model, 
representing the Monument garden, shows with nice elaboration of 
detail the terraces, the buildings, the fountains, and the approaches 
designed to furnish that august structure its appropriate setting.^ 

In order to present in graphic fashion particular features of the 
plans, the accurate architectural drawings have been rendered in color 
by a number of the most famous illustrators of the day, and by means 

^ These models were made under the direction of George Carroll Curtis, geograph- 
ical sculptor, of Boston. 
^ The Monument garden was modeled by Mr. Merz, of New York City. 




NO. 34.-MODEL OF THE MALL. SHOWING PRESENT CONDITIONS. LOOKING WEST. 



18 PAEK SYSTEM OF THE DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA. 

of these pictures a clear and distinct idea of the appearance of the 
completed work can be obtained/ 

IX. 

The plans as prepared call fo]- systematic, continuous work, which 

of necessity must be prolonged through a considerable number of 

years. The park system of the District of Columbia 

Concentration of au- - ^ i p i r^U ' ^ -P 

thority. is placed by law under the control ot the CJiiet ot 

Engineers of the United States Army,' but individual portions of the 
system are subject to separate control. It is essential to the harmoni- 
ous and successful development of the improvements that there shall 
be a greater concentration of authority, and the constant employment 
of professional advice. No work should be entered upon without the 
preparation of detailed plans, to be approved by the highest possible 
authority as being in accord with the general system. 

Obviously it is impossible to make even an approximate estimate of 

the cost of improvements which are to be completed in an indefinite 

future: nor is such an estimate necessary. From time 

The question of ex- ^ j j. j. i.u 

pense. to time new buildings must be constructed to meet tJie 

constantly increasing needs of the Government, and as appropriations 
come to be made the buildings should be located so that each new 
structure will fit into its appropriate p lace in the great scheme. Year 

iFrom January 15 to February 25, 1902, the models and pictures were exhibited 
at the Corcoran Museum of Art, the trustees of which institution very kindly having 
placed several rooms at.the disposal of the committee for the purpose of the exhibi- 
tion. Later the entire exhibition was removed to the Library of Congress, where it 
now is displayed in the Division of Prints. For a list of the illustrations presented 
see Appendix K. 

^'See act of July 1, 1898, entitled "An act to vest in the Commissioners of the 
District of Columbia control of street parking in said District." Section 2 provid^es: 

"That the park system of the District of Columbia is hereby placed under the 
exclusive charge and control of the Chief of Engineers of the United States Army, 
under such regulations as may be prescribed by the President of the United States, 
through the Secretary of War. The said park system shall be held to comprise: 
(a) All public spaces laid down as reservations on the map of eighteen hundred and 
ninety-four accompanying the annual report for eighteen hundred and ninety-four 
of the officer in charge of public buildings and grounds; (b) All portions of the space 
in the streets and avenues of the said District, after the same shall have been set 
aside by the Commissioners of the District of Columbia for park purposes: Provided, 
That no areas less than two hundred and fifty square feet between side walk lines 
shall be included within the said park system." 



THE NEED OF COOPERATION. 19 

by year lands must be secured for Government or municipal institu- 
tions, and by foresight and good judgment these purposes can readily 
be made to enhance the beauty and utility of the park system. As the 
finances of the District will allow, the parks are bound to be developed 
and those facilities for enjoyment which civic life increasingly demands 
will be supplied. So fast as provision may be made for these improve- 
ments, let the work be done in accordance with plans at once simple, 
adequate, dignified, and comprehensive. 

By the patient and steadfast cooperation of all those persons charged 
with the upbuilding of the District of Columbia, a result may be 
The need of cooper- attained such as has been reached in no other capital 
**'""' city of the modern world. The task is indeed a 

stupendous one; it is much greater than an}^ one generation can hope 
to accomplish. The ver\^ hearty and intelligent cooperation that the 
plans have been received b}^ the officers of the Government, the com- 
mittees of Congress, and by the public generally makes it reasonabl}' 
certain that the development of the National Capital will be prose- 
cuted along the general lines proposed; and that the city which 
Washington and Jefferson planned with so much care and with such 
prophetic vision will continue to expand, keeping pace with national 
advancement, until it becomes the visible expression of the power 
and taste of the people of the United States. 



REPORT OF THE PAliK COMMISSION. 



MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION. 

DANIEL H. BURNHAM, Chairman. 
CHARLES F. McKIM. 
AUGUSTUS SAINT GAUDENS. 
FREDERICK LAW OLMSTED, Jr. 



21 



^YashiTlptl1n CO] 




I,l,„(,ln M-ninri,.l 



Executive Kroup < 




1 r,.-|~lHlUr unilll, ,.| l.ull.lilm. 

NO. 36.- MODEL OF THE MALL, SHOWING TREATMENT PROPOSED. LOOKING WEST. 



Executive group of buL 




REPORT OF THE PARK COMMISSION TO THE SENATE 
COMMITTEE ON THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



SIR: The Commission appointed by the Senate Committee on the 
District of Columbia to prepare a plan for the development and 
the improvement of the entire park system of the District of 
Columbia respectfully report* 

I. 

The city of Washington differs from all other American cities in the 
fact that in its original plan parks were laid out as settings for public 
buildings. Even its broad avenues .were arranged so as to enhance 
the effect of the great edifices of the nation; and the squares at the 
intersection of the wide thoroughfares were set apart as sites for 
memorials to be erected by the various States. Parks, in the modern 
sense of large public recreation grounds, there were none; but small 
areas designed to beautify the connections between the various depart- 
ments of Government were numerous. 

During the nineteenth century, however, the development of urban 
life and the expansion of cities has brought into prominence the need, 
not recognized a hundred years ago, for , large parks to preserve 
artificially in our cities passages of rural or sylvan scenery and for 
spaces adapted to various special forms of recreation. Moreover, dur- 
ing the century that has elapsed since the foundation of the city the 
great space known as the Mall, which was intended 

Changes in the Mall. i /-^ • i j 

to form a unified connection between the Capitol and 
the White House, and to furnish sites for a certain class of public 
buildings, has been diverted from its original purpose and cut into 
fragments, each portion receiving a separate and individual informal 
treatment, thus invading what was a single composition. Again, 

23 



Washington Common. 




NO. .U. Mom I o( IKI MALL, i.HOWINO IHtAIMtNl PHOPOStO. LOOKING EAST. 



24 PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

many reservations have passed from public into private ownership, 
with the result that public buildino-s have lost their appropriate sur- 
roundings, and new structures have been built without that landscape 
setting which the founders of the cit}' relied on to give them beauty 
and dignity. 

Happil}", however, little has been lost that can not be regained at 
reasonable cost. Fortunateh^ also, during the years that have passed 
the Capitol has been enlarged and ennoblecl, and the Washington 
Monument, wonderful alike as an engineering feat and a work of art, 
iniproveineiits ae- ^^^ been constructcd on a site that may be brought 
compiisiied. jj^to relations with the Capitol and the White House. 

Doubly fortunate, moreover, is the fact that the vast and successful 
work of the engineers in redeeming the Potomac banks from unhealth- 
ful conditions gives opportunit}^ for enlarging the scope of the earlier 
plans in a manner corresponding to the growth of the countr}^ At 
the same time the development of Potomac Park both provides for a 
connection between the parks on the west and those on the east, and 
also it may readily furnish sites for those memorials which history 
has shown to be worthy a place in vital relation to the great buildings 
and monuments erected under the personal supervision of the founders 
of the Republic. 

Now that the demand for new public ])uildings and memorials has 
reached an acute stage, there has been hesitation and embarrassment 
in locating them because of the uncertainty in securing appropriate 
sites. The Commission were thus brought face to, face with the prob- 
lem of devising such a plan as shall tend to restore that unitv of design 
which was the fundamental conception of those who first laid out the 
cit\" as a national capital, and of formulating definite principles for the 
placing of those future structures which, in order to become effective, 
demand both a landscape setting and a visible orderly relation one to 
another for their mutual support and enhancement. 

To the unique problem of devising a way of return to the original 
plan of the city of Washington, was added the task of suggesting lines 
The original plan of ^^^ ^^® development of those large parks which have 
Washington. been obtained in recent years either by purchase or 

by reclamation; of advising the acquisition of such additional spaces 
as are deemed necessary to create a modern park system; and of select- 
ing for purchase and improvement suitable connections between the 
various park areas. 



EETUEN TO L ENFANT PLAN. 



25 



II. 

If Washington were not a nation's capital, in which the location of 
public building's is of the first importance, and if the city itself were 
not b}^ its ver}" plan tied to a historic past, the problem would be less 
complicated. The very fact that Washington and Jefi'erson, L'Enfant 
washin-toii as a ^"^ Ellicott, and their immediate successors, drew 
capital city. inspiration from the world's greatest works of land- 

scape architecture and of civic adornment made it imperative to go 
back to the sources of their knowledge and taste in order to restore 
unity and harmony 
to their creations 
and to guide future 
development along 
appropriate lines. 
Indeed the more 
the Commission 
studied the firs t 
plans of the Fed- 
eral City, the more 
they became con- 
vinced that the 
greatest service 
the}" could perform 
would be done by 
carrying to a legitimate conclusion the comprehensive, intelligent, 
and yet simple and straightforward scheme devised by L'Enfant 
under the direction of Washington and Jefferson.^ 

L'Enfant's plan ^ shows that he was familiar with the work of Lenotre, 

^ Through the courtesy of the Hon. Lyman J. Gage, former Secretary of the Treas- 
ury, the Commission were enabled to visit those historic towns and estates on the 
Potomac and James rivers and on Chesapeake Bay among which Washington passed 
his life, and which exemplify the principles of plan and design for which the seven- 
teenth century was famous. Meager and slight as these examples of formal landscape 
treatment seem when compared with their European prototypes, they nevertheless 
possess a simple dignity and stateliness, and they evince an acquaintance on the part 
of their designers with the fundamental principles of art. 

^ The L' Enfant' s plan was in charge of the Commissioners of the District of Colum- 
bia from 1791 to 1802; of the Superintendent of Public Buildings from 1802 to 1815; 
of the Commissioner of Public Buildings from 1815 to 1850, and since 1850 to the 
present time, of the Commissioner of Public Buildings and Grounds: The map is 
largely illegible, but has been reproduced by the Coast and Geodetic Survey. 




No. 148. — Water jets of the great terrace, Vau.x-le-Vicomte, work of 
Lenotre. 



26 



PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



whose examples of landscape architecture, not only in France but also in 
Ital}^ and England, are still the admiration of the world. We know, 
also, that L'Enfant had the advantage of those maps of foreign cities, 
' ' drawn on a large and accurate scale," which Jefferson gathered during 
his public service abroad, and we learn from Jefferson's letters how 
he adjured L'Enfant not to depart from classical models, but to follow 
those examples which the world had agreed to admire. In order to 
restudy these same models and to take note of the great civic works of 
Europe, the Commission spent five weeks of the summer of 1901 in for- 
eign travel, visiting London, Paris, Rome, Venice, Yienna, Budapest, 
Frankfort, and Berlin. Among the many problems with which the 
Commission is called upon to deal there is not one which has not been 
dealt with in some one of the cities mentioned, and by way either of 
example or of warning the lessons of the past have been brought to 
bear upon the present work. 

III. 

On beginning work the Commission were confronted by the fact that 

while from the first of October till about the middle of May the climatic 

Climatic conditions couditioiis of Washington are most salubrious, dur- 

in Was ing on. ^^^^ ^j^^ remaining four and a half months the city 

is subject to extended periods of intense heat, during which all 

public business is 
conducted at an 
undue expenditure 
of physical force. 
Every second year 
Congress is in ses- 
sion usually until 
about the middle 
of July; and not 
infrequently it hap- 
pens that, by rea- 
son of prolonged or 
special sessions, 
during the hottest 
portion of the sum- 
mer the city is filled with the persons whose business makes necessary 
a more or less prolonged stay in Washington. Of course nothing 
can be done to change weather conditions, but very much can be 





1 \ 




, ■!>■ 


! 


■ if 


' ■ M »?- 


1b \i 
H 


IIP"' 


^■^ 




^:: .. 


"-■*'iii(iii<rti's^iij 


'i^-^'-:^".„ ' 













No. 147. — Petite cascades, Vaux-le-Vicomte, work of Lenotre. 




NO. 84.— FOUNTAIN, BARBARINI PALACE, ROME. 




NO. 63.— FOUNTAIN, FARNESE PALACE, ROME. 



THE NEED OF FOUNTAINS. 



27 



accomplished to mitigate the physical strain caused by summer heat. 
Singularly enough, up to the present time the abundant facilities 
which nature affords for healthful and pleasant recreation during 
heated terms have been neglected, and in this respect Washington is 
far behind other cities whose climatic conditions demand much less, 
and whose opportunities also are less favorable. 

In Rome throughout the centuries it has been the pride of emperor 
and of pope to build fountains to promote health and give pleasure. 
Mile after mile of aqueduct has been constructed to gather the water 
even from remote 
hills, and bring 
great living streams 
into every quarter 
of the city; so that 
from the moment of 
entering the Eternal 
Cit}" until the time 
of departure the vis- 
itor is scarcely out 
of sight of beauti- 
ful jets of water, 
now flung upward 

in great columns to Fountain, Vaux-le-Vicomte. 

add life and dignity even to St. Peter's, or again gushing in the form 
of cascades from some great work of architect or sculptor, or still 
again dripping refreshingh^ over the brim of a beautiful basin that 
was old when the Christian era began. The Forum is in ruins, basili- 
cas and baths have been transformed into churches, palaces have been 
turned into museums; but the fountains of Rome are eternal. 

If all the fountains of Washington, instead of being left lifeless and 
inert as they are during a greater portion of the time, should be set 
The necessity of fouii-PK^'i^g' at their full Capacity, they would not use the 
*""**• amount of water that bursts from the world-famous 

fountain of Trevi or splashes on the stones of the piazza of St. Peter's. 
At the Chateau de Vaux-le-Vicomte, near Paris, the great landscape 
architect Lenotre built cascades, canals, and fountains using one- 
twelfth of the daily water-suppl}^ of the District of Columbia. The 
fountains at Versailles are one of the most attractive spectacles enjoyed 
by the people of France. 




28 PAEK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

The original plans of Washington show the high appreciation L'En- 

fant had for all forms of water decoration; and when the heats of a 

Washington summer are taken into consideration, further argument 

is unnecessary to prove that the first and greatest step in the matter 

of beautifying the District of Columbia is such an increase in the 

water supph^ as will make possible the copious and even lavish use of 

water in fountains/ 

IV. 

Scarceh' secondar}" in importance to fountains are public baths. An 
Pubiii- baths and instructive lesson in this respect may be found in 
-gymiiasiiims. ^hc experience of the Metropolitan Park Commis- 

sion in taking over and equipping Revere Beach, immediatel}" north 
of Boston. There the squalid conditions prevailing in former years 
have been changed radically; and a well-kept and well -policed beach, 
sufficient in extent to accommodate over 100,000 persons, is publicly 
maintained; no fewer than 1,700 separate rooms are provided for 
bathers, and bathing suits are furnished at a small expense. The 
receipts pay for maintenance and yield a surplus of several thousand 
dollars for repairs and extensions. 

In Washington the use of the present bathing beach shows how 
welcome would be the construction of modern buildings with ample 
facilities. Moreover, the opportunities offered by an extended river 
front should be utilized in furnishing opportunities for free public 
baths, especiall}^ for the people living in that section of the city 
between the Mall and the Potomac. 

V. 

The location of public buildings has received the very careful con- 
The location of pubii.- sideratiou of the Commission. In general terms 
buudings. their conclusions are: 

First. That onl}^ public buildings should face the grounds of the 
Capitol. 

Second. That new Department buildings may well be located so as 
to face Lafayette square. 

^The present daily consumption of water in the District of Columbia is about 
62,000,000 gallons; the reservoirs now have a capacity of 75,000,000 gallons; and the 
filtration plant will have a capacity equal to that of the reservoirs. The Chief of 
Engineers estimates that even if the work of increasing the supply is begun imme- 
diately, the task can not be completed before the demand will exceed the available 
supply. 



"STT 



^L 



n^r^r 



^% 



^r^S 



r 



A UNIOK RAILEOAD STATIOIf. 29 

Third. Buildings of a semi-public ciiaracter may be located south 
of the present Corcoran Art Galler}^, fronting on the White Lot and 
extending to the park limits. 

Fourth. That the northern side of the Mall may properly be used 
by museum and other buildings containing collections in which the 
public generally is interested, but not b}^ Department buildings. 

Fifth. That the space between Pennsylvania avenue and the Mall 
should be occupied by the District building, the Hall of Records, a 
modern market, an armor}^ for the District militia, and structures of 
like character. 

The location of public buildings is discussed in several portions of 
the report, under the appropriate subdivisions. 

VI. 

When the Commission was appointed the Baltimore and Ohio Rail- 
way was entitled, under an act of Congress passed on February 12, 1901, 
A union railroad to coudcmu and occupy a sitc for a depot fronting on 
**"*""'■ C street; and the Pennsylvania Railway, under an act 

approved at the same time, was given a strip of land about four hundred 
feet wide crossing the Mall. The Commission found almost at once 
that unless the Pennsylvania Railway Avould leave the Mall and build 
its station elsewhere the improvement of that great park would be 
impossible. No one had any serious hope that the Pennsylvania Com- 
pany would withdraw. However, in the summer of 1901 the president 
of that company consented to do so, provided the Government would 
meet the companj^ in a spirit which would enable him to justify the 
move to the stockholders. It was then suggested that the Pennsyl- 
vania and Baltimore and Ohio companies should build a union station 
at the site on C street granted to the latter by Congress, the five South- 
ern roads reaching the location through a tunnel under Capitol Hill 
But after careful consideration it was found that this site for a union 
station was not adequate, and also that it would result in a train shed 
extending over Massachusetts avenue; and therefore the Commission 
suggested that the station be located north of Massachusetts avenue, 
the center of the building being on the axis of Delaware avenue, about 
a quarter of a mile from the Capitol. 

This location has been accepted by the Engineer Commissioner, the 
Park Commission, and the railway companies, the latter consenting to 



30 



PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



make the moves provided the Government will treat them in a reason- 
able manner. The attitude of the railways has been public spirited 
and most admirable in this matter. They have consented to give up 
a location eminently fit for their business, and for no other purpose 
than to help out the general conditions of convenience and beaut}^ as 
laid down by the Park Commission, 

In front of the union station the Commission proposed a public plaza 
to be six hundred feet in width by twelve hundred feet in length, 
Park (jominissioii's Ornamented with fitting terrace, basins, and fountains, 
sug-gestions. Facing this plaza, and a hundred feet north of the 

line of Massachusetts avenue will be the marble fa^-ade of the station, 
seven hundred and sixty feet long. This great station forms the 

grand gateway to the capital, 
through which every one who 
comes to or goes from Wash- 
ington must pass; as there is 
no railroad entering the cit}^ 
that will not use the station, it 
becomes the vestibule of the 
capital. This being the fact, 
the importance of this station 
is greater than that of any 
other one in any city in the 
world. If there were several 
stations in the cit}" each might 
be treated as a railwa}' shed 
and the architectural expres- 
sion need not properly be of 
so high an order. But not so 
this one. The three great 
architectural features of a capital city being the halls of legislation, 
the executive buildings, and the vestibule, it is felt by the railroad 
<-ompanies that the style of this building should be equally as digni- 
fied as that of the public buildings themselves. Therefore it is that 
the design goes back to pure Roman motives, the central portion 
being derived directly from the triumphal arch of Constantine and 
the wings being brought into subordination to it. 

The central part, the vestibule of the station, is two hundred and 
ninety-three feet wide, containing three arches, each opening being 




No. 349. —Fountain, Vaux-le-Vieomte. 



MONUMENTAL DESIGN. 



31 



monumental desig-n. 



about thirty by sixty feet; with end pavilions for foot passengers. 
The waiting room will be one hundred and thirty by 
two hundred and fifty feet, its walls of masonry and its 
arched ceiling of glass and iron. The usual rooms of a grand station 
are added. Behind the head house is a lobby eighty by five hundred 
and fifty feet, and an open space next the tracks runs beside this 
lobby, this space being forty feet in width. The lobby opens out upon 
the side streets and is perfectly accessible to the waiting rooms. 

The design of this station is intended to be monumental in every 
respect and to be in keeping with the dignity of the chief city of 
America and with its present and future l^eauty. 




No. 196.— On the Pincian Hill, Rome. 



THE MALL SYSTEM. 



S. Rep 166 5 33 



_iczrcs3r- — I 



gariDrjnnLiL. 






a^ls?/^ 



□L 







A— Capitol Division. 
B— Tiie Mall. 
C — Monument Section. 
D — Lincoln Division. 



KEY TO THE MALL SYSTEM. 

E— White House Division. 
F — Wasliington Common 
GG— Park Spaces. 

H— Section south of Pennsylvania avenue 
K — Memorial Bridge. 



THE MALL SYSTEM. 



THE Cit}^ of Washing-ton, during- the century since its founda- 
tion, has been developed in the main according to the plan 
made in 1791 by Major Peter Charles L'Enfant and approved 
b}^ President Washington. That plan the Commission has aimed to 
restore, develop, and supplement. 

The ''Congress house" and the "President's palace," as he termed 
them, were the cardinal features of L'Enf ant's plan; and these edifices 
he connected "b}- a grand avenue four hundred feet in breadth, and 
about a mile in length, bordered by gardens, ending in a slope from 
the houses on each side." At the point of intersection of two lines, 
one drawn through the center of the Capitol the other drawn through 
the center of the White House, L'Enfant fixed the site of an eques- 
trian statue of General Washington, one of the numerous statues voted 
bj" the Continental Cong-ress but never erected. 

When, in 1848, the people began to build the Washington Monument, 
the engineers despaired of securing on the proper site a foundation suf- 
ficient for so great a structure; and consequently the Monument was 

35 



36 PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

located out of all relations with the buildings which it was intended to 
tie together in a single composition. To create these relations as 
originally planned was one of the chief problems of the Commission. 

Again, the reclamation of the Potomac Flats, prosecuted since 1882, 
has added to the Monument grounds an area about one mile in length 
from east to west; so that where L'Enfant dealt with a composition 
one and a half miles in length, the Commission is called upon to 
deal with an area two and a half miles long, with a maximum breadth 
of about one mile. 

By the inclusion of the space between Penns3dvania and New York 
avenues on the north, and Maryland avenue and the Potomac River on 
the south, the new composition becomes a symmetrical, polygonal, or 
kite-shaped, figure bisected from east to west by the axis of the Capitol 
and from north to south by the White House axis. Regarding the 
Monument as the center, the Capitol as the base, and the White House 
as the extremity of one arm of a Latin cross, we have at the head of 
the composition on the banks of the Potomac a memorial site of the 
greatest possible dignity, with a second and only less commanding site 
at the extremit}^ of the second arm. 

80 extensive a composition, and one containing such important ele- 
ments, does not exist elsewhere; and it is essential that the plan for its 
treatment shall combine simplicity with dignity. 






m 






NO. 23.— THE CAPITOL, WEST E 




No. 22.— Plan of the Capitol Grounds by L'Enfant (1791). 



THE CAPITOL DIVISION. 



The Capitol. 



THE Capitol, located b}^ Washington and L'Enfant on a site 
which seemed to the latter a.s "a pedestal waiting for a monu- 
nient," was constructed in accordance with plans prepared by 
Thornton and selected by the first President and his Secretary of 
State, because among the number of designs submitted Thornton's 
alone displayed the dignified simplicitj^ which should characterize the 
legislative halls of a nation. Under the personal direction of Presi- 
dent Fillmore, the Capitol was extended by the addi- 
tion of the Senate and the 'House wings, and the 
edifice was surmounted b}^ a soaring dome, all designed by Thomas 
U. Walter. "^ Distinguished alike for its historic associations and for 
its architectural merits, the Capitol stands in the midst of ample 
grounds, indeed, but is surrounded in the main b}' private build- 
ings, man}^ of them of the most squalid character, or by neglected 
stretches of land used as dumping grounds. Fi'om the Mall system 
the grounds are cut ofl' by the Botanic Garden, walled and fenced 
so as to block the way. 



^ History of the laiited states CaDitol, bv Glenn Brown. 




NO. 23. THQ CAPITOU, WEST F.LEVAriuN. 



rLllllAct. UE.'.TiiUATU.JN ul IHt BULFINCH GATES AND Bl UNDARY FENCE, FOUNTAINS AND APPROACHES. 



38 



PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



Facing- the Capitol grounds on the east stands the Congressional 
Library; and it is contemplated that at no distant day the Supreme 
Court of the United States shall be accommodated in a building- con- 
structed for the exclusive use of that tribunal, on the square directly 
north of the Library ;^ and that the Senate and the House of Repre- 
sentatives will have constructed for the uses of their members build- 
ings respectively on the north and on the south of the grounds of the 
Capitol.^ 

The construction of the above-mentioned buildings as planned will 
make it in the hig'hest degree appropriate that fronting the entire square 




No. 22a. — Plan of the Capitol Grounds by Thornton, Architect of the Capitol (1803) . 

occupied by the Capitol gTounds only public buildings bearing a 
common relation to legislative work shall be erected. If the recip- 
rocal relations of the new buildings shall be studied careful!}^, so as 



^ Bills contemplating such a building are regularly introduced in Congress. See 
S. 4113, Fifty-seventh Congress. 

^ The sundry civil act of March 3, 1901, authorizes the preparation of plans for a 
structure to be erected "adjacent to the grounds of the Capitol building." Esti- 
mates have been prepared for the purchase of the lands on the south side of the 
Capitol grounds. 



INVASIONS OF THE L ENFANT PLAN. 



39 



to produce harmony of design and uniformity of cornice line, the 
resulting architectural composition will be unequaled in magnitude 
and monumental character by any similar group of legislative build- 
ings in the modern world. 

The successful development of this proposed series of buildings 
inclosing the Capitol square is to be assured only by strict adherence to 
inTasions of the ^^^^ systcm of radial avenues laid down by Washington 
L'Enfantpian. ^j^^| L'Eufaut, upou which the Capitol depends for its 

dominating character. Anj^ invasion of these historic arteries repre- 
senting the original States and centering upon the Dome must be fatal, 






^ -^^^^E^-^ 




No. 38. — Bulfinch Gatehouse, formerly on Capitol Grounds. 

because inconsistent with the fundamental principles upon which the 
city is built. The location of the Library of Congress parti}- in Penn- 
sylvania avenue is a perpetual mutilation of L'Enfant's plan, and 
inflicts incalculable injury to the Capitol, which the Library in part 
conceals. Other similar instances are the extension of the Treasury 
and the construction of the State, War, and Navy buildings so as to 
close forever carefully planned vistas of the White House. These 



40 PAEK SYSTEM OF THE DISTBICT OF COLUMBIA. 

discordant notes should warn future generations that sites for public 
buildings are dearly purchased at the cost of those essential elements 
which give to Washington its unique advantage over all other Ameri- 
can cities. 

In 1803 Thornton marked the boundaries of the Capitol grounds to 
Treatment of the Correspond with the rectilinear system of streets, and 
Capitol irrouuds. thcsc liues werc maintained until the latest addition 
to the grounds brought about innovations, resulting in various curved 
projections, especially on the western side. This complication of the 
early plans banished the Bulfinch gates and fence which so strongly 
emphasized the frontage of sixteen hundred feet that corresponds to 
the width of the Mall. The recover}' of this original feature of the 
Capitol design, supplemented b}'^ the construction of a central terrace 
one thousand feet in width, will give the broadest possible support 
to the Capitol, which, resting upon this base as on a plinth, will gain 
an additional height of forty feet. 

The western slope of the Capitol grounds should be relieved and 
enriched by basins and fountains in which the water, falling from 
one level to another, is poured linalh' into a great central pool at 
the level of First street. So L'Enfant intended in his plan for "a 
grand cascade formed of water from the sources of the Tiber," 
which was to mitigate the heat of the sun-baked hill. 

Several of the great radial avenues extending from the Capitol 

and the White House climb the hills encircling the citj^, and on the 

crests of these hills superb sites are found for shining 

The radial avenues. . /^ i 

memorials standing out against the sky. Often these 
vistas terminate on some far-oli' hill, where a simple white shelter 
will prove the most effective treatment. In other instances the hill 
crests are in the midst of a populous region, and in these cases the 
treatment should be on a more comprehensive scale. For example, 
at the head of North Capitol street a monumental entrance to the 
Soldiers' Home should be built; and the sharp rise of Sixteenth street 
should carry an imposing arch, such as the one projected as a 
memorial to William McKinley. 



UNION SQUARE. 



ON the western side of the Capitol grounds, where Pennsylvania 
and Mar^'land avenues converge, the L'Enfant plan shows 
"a public walk, through which carriages may ascend to the 
upper square of the Federal house.'"' Having restored the true north 
and south line of the Capitol grounds, it is proposed to treat the 
space now occupied by the Botanic Garden as a broad thoroughfare, 
so enriched with parterres of green as to form an organic connection 
between the Capitol and the Mall. 

The exceptional opportunities for monumental treatment offered b}- 
the commanding location of this area leads the Commission to sug-gest 
that the Grant memorial already provided for shall be the chief deco- 
oration of the square; and that associated with the Grant monument 
shall be the figures of his two great lieutenants, Sherman and Sheri- 
dan, standing independentl}", yet so as to form a single composition.^ 

^The location now fixed for the Sherman statue is directly south of the Treasurj' 
Department, where a granite pedestal has been constructed. This location suggests 
Secretary Sherman rather than General Sherman. A location for the Grant memo- 
rial was selected tentatively before the Park Commission made its report; and the 
competitors made designs for a site either south of the White House or south of the 
State, War, and Navy building. The commission on the Grant memorial ( made up 
of Gen. Grenville M. Dodge, president of the Society of the Army of the Tennessee, 
chairman; Senator George Peabody Wetmore, chairman of the Joint Committee on 
the Library; and Hon. Elihu Root, Secretary of War) appointed as a committee to 
judge the relative merits of the models submitted in the competition, Lieut. Gen. J. M. 
Schofield, Maj. Gen. Wesley M. Merritt, Daniel H. Burnham, Charles F. McKim, 
Augustus Saint Gaudens, and Daniel Chester French. This committee reported, on 
April 12, 1902, that it had selected unanimously the models of the following 
persons: Henry Merwin Shrady, Charles Henry Niehaus (associated with Henry 
Bacon, architect), J. Massey Rhind (with Bright & Bacon, architects), Charles A. 
Lopez and F. G. R. Roth (with Henry Hornbostel, architect), Waldo Story, and 
Burr C. Miller. Of the six the committee found the design submitted by Mr. 
Shrady the first in intrinsic merit and best adapted to the site indicated, on the axis 

41 




NO. 37.— VIEW SHOWING THE PROPOSED TREATMENT OF UNION SQUARE, AT THE HEAD OF THE MALL. 



42 PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

The placing- of the defenders of the Union at this great point of 
convergence doubl}^ justifies the name of '"Union Square." 

Brilliantly illuminated, embellished with fountains, and commanded 
b}^ terraces, this square would compare favorably, in both extent and 
treatment, with the Place de la Concorde in Paris. 

of the White House. They found the design submitted by Niehaus and Bacon 
second in intrinsic merit, and perfectly adapted to either site. They made further 
recommendations as follows: "The committee thinks it desirable, nothwithstanding 
the brilliant character of Mr. Shrady's composition, to be assured of his powers to 
execute a figure of Grant with the nobility and reserve power that it should possess. 
On the other hand, the qualities of Mr. Niehaus' s work were of such high order and 
were so close in merit to those of Mr. Shrady's that the committee feels it would be 
unfair to Mr. Niehaus to reject his work without another trial. 

" Furthermore, in view of the fact that since the competition for the Grant monu- 
ment was instituted the proposition to place three equestrian statues together at the 
head of the Mall, in the center of Union Square, has been urged in the plan of the 
Park Commission, and also in view of the possibility of this equestrian figure of 
Grant becoming the central feature of this portion of the plan of the Park Commis- 
sion, the committee begs to suggest that, before finally making the award Messrs. 
Shrady and Niehaus be requested to execute another model of about four feet in 
height for the equestrian group of General Grant. As this enlarged model would 
involve a very serious expense to the sculptors, the committee suggests that an 
appropriate sum of money be offered in remuneration to the unsuccessful competitor. 

"Although outside of the instructions of your commission to this committee the 
committee begs leave to suggests that, while the central site, namely, the White Lot, 
is well adapted for the purpose of a monument to General Grant, the placing of any 
kind of a monument in the White Lot circle is extremely objectionable from an 
artistic standpoint and is an encroachment upon historic ground. 

"The four corners of the White Lot square are deemed highly appropriate places 
for subordinate military monuments, but neither one is suited in dignity for a site 
for a monument to General Grant." 

The report of the committee was adopted at the judgment of the commission. The 
following resolution was adopted as the sense of the commission: 

"Resolved, That in pursuance of the recommendation of the advisory committee, 
Messrs. Shrady and Niehaus be requested each to execute another model of four feet 
in height for the equestrian group of General Grant, in order to enable the commis- 
sion to make final selection between the designs submitted by those gentlemen. 

Further resolved, That |750 be paid to each of them upon the completion and sub- 
niission of said models." 



S. Rep 166 6 



THE MALL. 



HAVING considered the Capitol grounds and the areas related 
thereto we come now to that long- stretch of territory 
designed to furnish the park-like means of communication 
between the legislative and the executive departments. It is interest- 
ing to note that although this space has been cut into pieces, 
some of which have been highly developed according to the land- 
scape art of the da}", as for example the grounds of the Smith- 
sonian Institution and the Agriculture Department, and while other 
portions have been diverted from their orig-inal purposes, as in the 
case of the sections given up to the Botanic Garden and the Balti- 
more and Potomac Railroad, still the L'Enfant idea of treating the 
entire space as a unit has never been entirel}- lost sight of. Indeed, 
during- the ver}^ months of 1871, when the right of wa}^ across the 
Mall was bestowed upon a railroad, one branch of Congress agreed 
to a proposition to combine the scattered areas into a single park, 
but was deterred from so doing largely by the objection that such 
treatment would divide Washington into two parts. ^ 

The gradual development of the cit}^ and its growth toward the 
north, together with the location in the Mall of public buildings for 
scientific pui-poses, have resulted in a stead}^ improvement in the 
character of the Mall, which during the past thirty years has been 
changed from a common pasture into a series of park spaces 
unequally developed, indeed, and in places broken in upon by being 
put to commercial or other extraneous uses, but nevertheless becom- 
ing more and more appreciated from year to year. With this gradual 
improvement has sprung up a general desire that the L'Enfant plans 
be reverted to, and that the entire space south of Pennsylvania avenue 
be set apart solely for public purposes. 

In order to realize this natural and most laudable desire, two things 
are essential: First, the railroad must be removed from the Mall, and, 

^ See editorials and articles in the Washington Star during February and March, 
1871. 

43 



44 PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

secondly, axial relations must be established between the Capitol, the 
Monument, and the White House. Happih^, as has been explained 
elsewhere in these reports, the opportunity is presented to Congress 
to secure not on\y the exclusion of the railroad, but also the construc- 
tion of a union station, a consummation which, long agitated, has 
heretofore seemed be3"ond the possibility of accomplishment. 

Fortunately, also, the location of the Monument does not preclude 
the establishment of such relations as will bring that 

Axial relationship. . . . . , , 

structure into organic connection with the monu- 
mental buildings above mentioned, so that Capitol, White House, 
and Monument shall become constituent parts of one composition. 
The plan of the Commission contemplates the extension of B street 
northeastward to Pennsylvania avenue, whence it continues on the 
north side of the Capitol grounds, thus securing for the Mall a uni- 
form width of sixteen hundred feet throughout its entire extent. 
Within these boundaries it becomes possible to develop the Mall area 
in accordance with the general distribution of the L'Enfant plan, with 
such enlargements as the conditions of to-day have made possible and 
desirable. 

Thus areas adjoining B street north and south, averaging more than 

four hundred feet in width from the Capitol to the Monument, afford 

^., , , . spacious sites for buildings devoted to scientitic pur- 

Sites for certain i to jr 

iiuiuiina:s. poscs and for the great museums. The structure to be 

erected for the Department of Agriculture on the site of the present 
building marks at once the building line and the type of architecture 
which should be adopted throughout the Mall system; while the build- 
ings of the National Museum and the Fisheries Commission building, 
both of which are inadequate and unsuited for their respective purposes^ 
serve to show the class of the service that ma}^ well be accommodated 
with new structures located within a park area.^ 

The axis of the Capitol and Monument is clearly defined by an 

expanse of undulating green a mile and a half long and three hundred 

feet broad, walled on either side by elms, planted 

The tapis-vert. , n i • i.i • 

in formal procession tour abreast. Bordering this 
green carpet, roads, park-like in character, stretch between Capitol 

^ The sundry civil act as reported to the Senate in April, 1902, contains a provision 
for plans for a new building for the National Museum, to cost $2,000,000. It is 
expected that the entire building, or group of buildings, will cost not less than 
14,000,000. 



THE MALL. 45 

and Monument, while beneath the ehiis one maj^ walk or drive, pro- 
tected from the sun. Examples of this treatment abound in England 
and on the Continent of Europe, and also may be found in our own 
countr}^ in those towns, both North and South, which were laid out 
during the colonial era/ Moreover, these two plantations of elms 
traversed by paths are similar in character to the Mall in Central Park, 
New York, which is justl^^ regarded as one of the most beautiful 
features of that park. 

The American elm was chosen not only because of the architectural 
character of its columnar trunk and the delicate traceries formed by 
its widespreading branches, but also because in the District of Colum- 
bia this tree is at its best, notable examples being found in the city 
parks and in the grounds of the Capitol. 

The streets leading southward from Pennsylvania avenue are to cross 
the Mall at their present grades, no attempt being made either to 
exclude street car and other traffic or to hide it. Indeed, the play of 
light and shade where the streets break through the columns of trees, 
and the passage of street cars and teams give needed life to the Mall, 
while at the same time those persons most interested in the area main- 
tained as a park will obtain the full enjoyment from it. As the Garden 
of the Tuilleries, besides performing its artistic function of uniting the 
palaces of the Louvre with the Arc de Triomphe, furnishes a pleasing 
passageway" for tens of thousands of persons who cross it going to and 
from their work, so the Mall will afford varietj^ and refreshment to 
those going and coming between the "Island" and the other sections 
of the city. 

By extending Ninth street through the Mall, an opportunity occurs 

to emphasize these very necessar}" north and south connections, and at 

the same time to relieve from monotonv the meadow- 

A eross axis. 

like stretch a mile and a half long. The entire space 
between Seventh and Ninth streets should be treated in a manner 
similar to the proposed Union Square in front of the Capitol, with 
parterres of green and large basins of water, with frequent seats 
tempting the passer-by to linger for rest. 

^ In France Versailles, Fontainebleau, Compiegne, Vaux-le-Vicomte; in Austria 
the royal palace of Schonbrunn, near Vienna; in England Bushy Park, Windsor 
Great Park, and Hatfield House; in America Old Hadley in Massachusetts and 
Williamsburg in Virginia are noteworthy instances. 



I 



S. Rep. 166 





m 




? o 



% 


s 


o 


III 


X 


T 




H 


03 


rr 


X 







No. 61a. — Model of the Monument Garden. 



THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT DIVISION. 



FROM this cross axis the carpet of greensward of the Mall 
stretches westward. The bordering columns of elms march to 
the Monument grounds, climb the slope, and, spreading them- 
selves to right and left on extended terraces, form a great body of 
green, strengthening the broad platform from which the obelisk rises 
in majestic serenity. The groves on the terraces become places of 
rest, from which one gets wide views of the busy city; of the "White 
House, surrounded by its ample grounds; of the Capitol, crowning 
the heights at the end of the broad vista; of sunny stretches of river 
winding at the foot of the Virginia hills. 

Axial relations between the White House and the Monument are 
created by the construction of a sunken garden on the western side of 
the great shaft, the true line passing through the 
center of a great round pool, to which marble steps 
three hundred feet in width lead down forty feet from the Monu- 
ment platform. Surrounded by terraces bearing elms, laid out with 
formal paths lined by hedges and adorned with small trees, enriched 
by fountains and temple-like structures, this garden becomes the gem 
of the Mall system. Seen from the lower level, the Monument 
gains an additional height of nearly forty -five feet, while at the 
same time nothing is suffered to come so near as to disturb the isola- 
tion which the Monument demands. 

47 



A sunken irardeu. 



48 



PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



At present the immediate surroundings of the Monument are so inad- 
equate as to cause the beholder near at hand to lose that very sense of 





No. 25. — Plan showing proposed treatment of the Monument Garden. 

grandeur which it inspires when seen from a distance; and the lack of 
harmonious relationship between it and the great structures with which 
it comes into juxtaposition disturbs one's sense of litness. No portion 
of the task set before the Commission has required more study and 
extended consideration than has the solution of the problem of devis- 
ing an appropriate setting for the Monument; and the treatment here 
proposed is the one which seems best adapted to enhance the value of 
the Monument itself. Taken by itself, the Washington Monument 
stands not only as one of the most stupendous works of man, but also 
as one of the most beautiful of human creations. Indeed, it is at once 
so great and so simple that it seems to be almost a work of nature. 
Dominating the entire District of Columbia, it has taken its place with 
the Capitol and the White House as one of the three foremost national 
structures. 



-'*^'^»r''S^m^a^, 





NO. 58.— GENERAL V EW OF THE MONUMENT GARDEN AND MALL. LOOKING TOWARD THE CAPITOL. 




NO. 44.-VIEW IN THE MONUMENT GARD^ MONUMENT. LOOKING EAST 



i 




•■" j- = 0£N. MAIN AXIS, SHOWING PBOPOSED TREATMENT OF APPROACHES AND TERRACES, FORMING A SETTING FOR THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT. LOOKING EAST. 



S. Rep. 166 8 




Ko. 43.^0ne of six pavilions in the iMonument Garden. 



THE WASHINGTON COMMON. 



TAKING the Monument garden as a center, one looks north- 
ward over the White Lot, which is retained as the great drill 
grounds of the District. On the east and on the west, along 
Fifteenth and Seventeenth streets, walks shaded by four rows of 
lindens tempt one from the hot and busy streets of the cit}^ to the 
cool and quiet of the gardens or to the field of sports beyond. 

The space south of the Monument is to be devoted to the people as 
a place of recreation — the Washington Common it might be called. 
Here should be constructed a great stadium arranged for athletic con- 
tests of all kinds and for the display of fireworks on festal occasions. 
Ball grounds and tennis courts, open-air gymnasiums for youths, and 
sand piles and swings for children, all should be provided, as they are 
now furnished in the progressive cities of this countr3\ The tidal 
basin should have the most ample facilities for boating and for wad- 
ing and swimming in summer, as well as for skating in winter. To 

49 



50 



PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



this end boat pavilions, locker houses, and extensive bath houses should 
be constructed with all the conveniences known to the best-equipped 
institutions of like character. The positive dearth of means of innocent 
enjojniient for one's leisure hours is remarkable in Washing-ton, the 
one city in this countr}^ where people have the most leisure. 

Where the axis of the White House intersects the axis of Maryland 
avenue a site is found for a g-reat memorial. Whether this memorial 
shall take the form of a Pantheon, in which shall be grouped the 
statues of the illustrious men of the nation, or whether the memory 
of some individual shall be honored by a moniunent of the first rank 
may be left to the future; at least the site will be read3\ 




No. 4(.>. — View of Terrace from base of Monumuiil. 



THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL. 



THE area extending westward for a mile from the Monument 
to the bank of the Potomac — land reclaimed from the river 
flats — remains to be considered. For the most pai't this area 
from New York avenue to the river should be treated as a wood, 
planted informalh^, but marked by formal roads and paths, much as 
the Bois de Bologne at Paris is treated. If the plans as laid down 
by this Commission shall be observed by the army engineers in the 
remaining work of flats reclamation, and b}^ the District engineers 
when the}" come to complete the sewage-disposal system, this portion 
of Potomac Park can be made ready for planting without appreciable 
expense. 

The central portion of this area, still adhering to the Mall width of 
sixteen hundred feet, has a special and particular treatment. From 
the Monument garden westward a canal three thousand six hundred 
feet long and two hundred feet wide, with central arras and bordered 
b}^ stretches of green walled with trees, leads to a concourse raised to 
the height of the Monument platform. Seen from 

The canal. , -^ r i ^ i • • -i • i 

the Monument platform, this canal, similar in char- 
acter and general treatment to the canals at Versailles and Fontaine - 
bleau, in France, and at Hampton Court, in England, introduces into 
the formal landscape an element of repose and great beauty. At the 
head of the canal a great rond -povnt., placed on the main axis of the 
Capitol and the Monument, becomes a gate of approach to the park 
system of the District of Columbia. Centering upon it as a great 
point of reunion are the drives leading southeast to Potomac Park 
and northwest by the Riverside drive to the Rock Creek system of 
parks. From this elevation of forty feet the Memorial Bridge leads 
across the Potomac directly to the base of the hill crowned b}^ the 
Mansion-house of Arlington. 

Crowning the rond jxrint ^ as the Arc de Triomphe crowns the Place 
de I'Etoile at Paris, should stand a memorial erected to the memory of 

51 




NO. 49.— VIEW SHOWING THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT OF THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL SITE, SEEN FROM THE CANAL. 



52 PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

that one man in our histor}^ as a nation who is worthy to be named 
with George Washington — Abraham Lincoln. 

Whatever may be the exact form selected for the memorial to 
Lincoln, in type it should possess the qualit}'' of universality, and 
also it should have a character essentially distinct from that of any 
monument either now existing in the District or hereafter to be 
Type of the Lincoln ©rected. The type which the Commission has in mind 
Memorial. j^ ^ great portlco of Doric columns rising from an 

unbroken stylo bate. This portico, while affording a point of vantage 



No. 32. — Section of Lincoln Memorial. 

from which one obtains a commanding outlook, both upon the river 
and eastward to the Capitol, has for its chief function to support a 
panel bearing an inscription taken either from the Gettysburg speech 
or from some one of the immortal messages of the savior of the Union. 
The portico contemplated in the plans, consisting of columns forty 
feet in height, occupies a space of two hundred and fifty feet in length 
and two hundred and twent}^ feet in width; it is approached by flights 
of stairs on the east and the west, is embellished with appropriate 
groups of sculpture, and is surmounted by a central crowning group 
of statuary. At the head of the canal, at the eastern approach to the 
memorial, it is proposed to place a statue of Abraham Lincoln, while 
surrounding the memorial and framing it are linden trees, planted 
four rows deep, to form a peristyle of green, from which radiate 
various avenues centering upon the memorial itself.^ 

^On June 16, 1902, the House of Kepresentatives passed the Senate bill, introduced 
by Mr. Cullom, of Ilhnois, as follows: 

Be it enacted, etc., That the chairman of the Committee on the Library of the 
Senate, tlie chairman of the Committee on the Library of the House of Representa- 
tives, the Secretary of State, and the Secretarj^ of War, and James D. Richardson, a 
member of the House of Representatives, be, and they are hereby, created a com- 
mission to secure plans and designs for a monument or memorial to the memory of 
Abraham Lincoln, late President of the United States. 

Sec. 2. That the sum of $25,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby 
appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to carry 
out the provisions of this act. 

Sec. 3. That the said commission shall report the result of their action to Congress 
as soon as practicable after a decision has been reached. 



THE MEMORIAL BRIDGE, AJSTALOSTAN ISLAND, 

AND THE NATIONAL CEMETERY 

AT ARLINGTON. 



S. Rep. 166 9 53 



THE MEMORIAL BRIDGE, ANALOSTAN ISLAND, AND THE 
NATIONAL CEMETERY AT ARLINGTON. 



ON the occasion of lajdng the corner stone for the extension 
of the Capitol, on the Eourth of Jul}^, 1851, Daniel Webster, 
in the course of an impassioned plea for preservation of the 
Union, which in his prophetic vision seemed even then on the verge 
of dissolution, exclaimed: 

Before us is the broad and beautiful river, separating two of the original thirteen 
States, which a late President, a man of determined purpose and inflexible will, but 
patriotic heart, desired to span with arches of ever-enduring granite, symbolical of 
the firmly established union of the North and the South. That President was 
General Jackson. 

The struggle which the orator and the statesman were powerless to 
avert brought about the perpetuation of the Union; and to-day the 
survivors of that war, both those of the North and those of the South, 
using the words of President McKinle}^, urge the building of the 
Memorial Bridge as a monument to American valor. 

For the past seventeen years the Memorial Bridge project has been 
before Congress constantl3^ In response to the Senate resolution of 
Maj^ 24, 1886, Major Hains, of the Corps of Engineers, reported in 
favor of a bridge of four spans, each about three hundred feet in 
length, to extend from the Washington bank of the Potomac to 
Analostan Island, the island itself and the bed of Little River to be 
crossed partl}^ b}^ an embankment and partl}^ b}^ an open trestle, the 
cost for the entire work to be about $650,000. About the same time 
Captain Symons submitted a plan for a more elaborate structure, to 
extend from Observatory Hill to the National Cemetery and Govern- 
ment estate at Arlington, at a cost of 11,500,000. On February 
20, 1890, the Senate again called for a stud}^ of the subject, and 
in response Colonel Hains proposed a bridge four thousand live 
hundred and eightv feet in length, extending rrom New York 
avenue to the Arlington estate, at a cost of $3,591,000. 

55 



56 PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

Subsequenth" several reports were made on bills to provide for a 
Memorial Bridge, but the first legislation on the subject is found in 
the sundry civil act approved March 3, 1899, which appropriated 
$5,000 "to enable the Chief of Engineers of the Army to continue 
the examination of the subject and to make or secure designs, 
calculations, and estimates for a Memorial Bridge from the most 
convenient point, of the Naval Observatory grounds, or adjacent 
thereto, across the Potomac River to the most convenient point of 
the Arlington estate property," 

Acting under the authority so conferred, four bridge engineers, 
Messrs. L. L. Buck, William H, Burr, William R. Hutton,and George 
Bruise designs suii- ^- Morrison, wcre invited to prepare plans. These 
'""'"'^''- plans were submitted to a jurj^ composed of Lieutenant- 

Colonel Charles J. Allen, Major Thomas W. Svmons, Captain D. D. 
Gaillard, of the Corps of Engineers, and Mr. Stanford White and Mr. 
James G. Hill, architects, who reported in favor of a combination of 
the designs submitted by Professor Burr. The cost was estimated at 
$4,860,000, and the structure proposed was a highly decorated bridge 
eighty-four feet in width, adapted for street-railwaj" tracks, and fitted 
with a steel bascule draw. These plans were submitted to Congress 
by the Secretary of War on April 9, 1900, but thus far no action upon 
them has been taken. ^ 

Up to the time this report was submitted no study had been made for 
the development of the Potomac Park, and for this reason, doubtless, 
favorable consideration was given to bridge plans which contained 
in themselves features unusualh^ elaborate. The studies which the Park 
Commission has made for the improvement of Potomac Park, and the , 
introduction in the park proper of memorials of the largest type, 
have led the Commission to recommend certain modifications in both 
the location and the character of the Memorial Bridge. 

The proposed Lincoln memorial, located on the bank of the Potomac, 
on the axis of the Capitol and the Washington Monument, and occup}^- 
ing an elevation forty feet above the level of the water, makes a start- 
ing point for the bridge that becomes especial)}^ convenient when this 
rond point is considered as the point of divergence and reunion of the 
driveways leading to the Rock Creek park S3^stem on the northwest 
and the Potomac system on the southeast. Moreover, the establish- 

^House of Representatives Document No. 578, Fifty-sixth Congress, first session. 




I 



MEMORIAL BRIDGJJ, ANALOSTAN ISLAND, NATIONAL CEMETERY. 57 

mentof this concourse allows the bridge to cross the river at the angle 
most convenient, taking- into consideration both the channel of the 
river and the main objective point — the mansion house at Arlington. 

Inasmuch as the comparatively flat topograph}^ of the country makes 
undesirable a high bridge under which vessels could pass, the decreased 
Lensth of bri(ii,'e length of bridge required under the new plans is in 
desirable. itsclf a Weighty Consideration. At the same time the 

necessity of placing a draw in the bridge calls for such a treatment of 
the spans as shall not result in an apparent weakening of the structure 
at its central and vital point. 

All these things considered, the Commission recommends that the 
Memorial Bridge proper begin at the proposed Lincoln memorial and 
extend to Analostan Island; that the supports be masonry piers of 
monumental character; that the spans be so arranged as to prevent a 
uniform appearance, the character of the draw used being such as to 
bring about this result. Also, that a concourse suited to memorial 
treatment be established on Analostan Island, and that the extension 
of the passageway from the island to the Virginia shore be distinctly 
subordinate to the bridge proper. 

The competition already mentioned having resulted in the selection 
of one of the leading l)ridge builders of the country, it is not con- 
sidered necessary to do more than to have the subject restudied in the 
light of the new conditions and to have such modifications made in 
the plans as shall adapt them to the principles above laid down, all of 
which may be accomplished under the direction of the Secretary of 
War when the necessary appropriations shall be made. Such moditi- 
cations would call for the removal of the central ornamental towers, 
which would conflict with the proposed Lincoln memorial, and which 
are not considered as in themselves desirable features for the central 
portion of a bridge structure. 

In connection with the Memorial Bridge, the acquisition and devel- 
opment of Analostan Island becomes an important consideration. The 
Development of All- i'^l^ud pi'opcr is about eightj^-cight acres in extent; 
aiostan Island. ^ud to this should be added the flats at the eastern 

end, which must be reclaimed eventually. The western portion, sep- 
arated from Georgetown by the narrow channel of the river, is in 
part covered by trees and in part b}- sedges and water plants. Form- 
ing an important and beautiful part of all the views over the Poto- 




NO. 50.-PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT OF LINCOLN MEMORIAL SITE, SEEN FROM RIVERSIDE DRIVE. 



58 PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

mac, the island should not be permitted to come into disagreeable 
occupancy, but at the earliest convenient opportunity^ it should be 
purchased and developed as a river park for the use of that por- 
tion of Georgetown which is now entirel}" without park facilities. 
Inasmuch as the island will be crossed by the Memorial Bridge, it 
will be accessible, and at its present offered price it would form a 
very desirable and inexpensive addition to the park system. 

The broader and simpler the treatment of the bridge to Arlington, 
the closer will be the connection between the reservations now sepa- 
Treatiiieiit of Ar- I'^ted b}^ the Potomac, and the more vital will be the 
"""*""• relation between the Potomac Park and the Arling- 

ton estate. Such a result becomes desirable in the highest degree 
when one considers the immense numbers of people who resort not 
onl}^ to Fort Myer, but also to the Arlington Cemetery. 

The interest excited by the drills at the cavalry post, the superb 
view from the heights, and the feelings of patriotism awakened by the 
vast field of the hero dead, known or unnamed, all call for such a 
treatment of the entire reservation as shall not diminish but rather 
enhance the effect produced on the visitor. 

There is nothing that needs proper supervision and planning more 
than the modern cemetery, for there is certainly nothing that suffers 
more fromvulgarit}", ignorance, and pretentiousness on the one side, 
and grasping unscrupulousness on the other; and instead of being a 
place to which one may go with a sentiment of respect and peace, as 
into a church or sacred place, the e^^e and the feelings are constantly 
shocked by the monstrosities which dominate in all modern cemeteries. 

There is no doubt that the feeling which pervades the majority of 
people who erect monuments to their dead is one of the tenderest; a 
sincere desire to do nothing even in the simplest form which is not 
fitting and in entire harmony with the feeling that prompts the erec- 
tion of the memorials. This feeling, if properl}'^ protected and guarded, 
would lead to the harmonious and sober treatment so necessary for 
such places. A great example of the effectiveness of such restraint 
and guidance is the extraordinary dignit3^ impressiveness, and nobility 
of the Soldiers' Cemetery at the Soldiers' Home in this city, and also 
in that part of the Arlmgton Cemetery set apart for the privates and 
unknown dead. This is not attained by any large monuments, but hj 
the very simplicity and uniformitj^ of the whole. 



MEMORIAL BRIDGE, ANALOSTAN ISLAND, NATIONAL CEMETERY. 59 

The trouble is that the majorit}^ of monuments now in the ceme- 
teries are produced b}' tirms who make it merelj" a business afi'air, the 
Cemetery nioiiu- g'^'^ater portiou of them having- not the slightest idea 
"'•""t**- of what is good » or bad, and possessing' not even an 

elementary knowledge of architecture or even good taste. To remed}'- 
this it is absolutely necessary that the designs for all the monuments 
in all the cemeteries, from the most niodest to the most costly, should 
be made by or subject to the approval of a commission composed of 
two or three architects and a landscape architect of the highest pos- 
sible standing. The}^ should lay out and design the cemeteries and 
establish rules for their proper supervision, and should control the 
designs for future monuments in the cemeteries already existing. 

Nothing could be more impressive th.an the )"ank after rank of 

white stones, inconspicuous in themselves, covering the gentle, wooded 

slopes, and producing the desired effect of a vast armv 

The soldier dead. 

in its last resting place. Those spaces reserved for 
burials of officers and their families, however, exhibit all the hetero- 
g-eneous forms which disturb those very ideas of peace and quiet 
which should characterize a spot sacred to the tenderest feelings of 
the human heart. In particular, the noble slopes toward the river 
should be rigorously protected against the invasion of monuments 
which utterh" annihilate the sense of beaut}^ and repose. This is one 
of the most beautiful spots in the vicinity of Washington; it should 
not be defaced or touched in an}^ wa}^, and a law or rule should at 
once be passed forbidding the placing of any monument on this hill. 



THE GROUPING OF THE BUILDINGS OF THE 
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS. 



61 



THE GROUPING OF THE BUILDINGS OF THE EXECUTIVE 

DEPARTMENTS. 



THE location of the buildings connected with the Legislative and 
Judicial Departments of the Government having been dis- 
cussed in another portion of this report, attention should be 
given to the buildings of the Executive Department. Of these the 
first to be considered is the White House, the corner stone of which 
was laid on October 13, 1792, and which was first occupied b}^ Presi- 
dent and Mrs. John Adams in 1800. The building was burned b}'^ the 
British in 1814, and both its construction and reconstruction were 
superintended by its architect, James Hoban. 

For a number of years past the White House has been overcrowded 
by reason of the rapid increase in public business, which has encroached 
seriously upon the private apartments of the President. The larger 
receptions and other social functions are now so inadequately provided 
for as to cause serious discomforts to the guests, and a consequent loss 
of that order and dignity which should characterize them. State 
dinners can not be served adequately; and all the conditions surrounding 
the home life of the President are primitive to the last degree. 

Three methods of overcoming the present unfortunate conditions 
have been suggested: First, the enlargement of the White House by 
additions on the east and west of the present building. The plans and 
model prepared for such enlargement prove conclusively that the 
historic White House can not be enlarged without destro^dng its 
individuality, thus causing the loss of those characteristic features 
which endear the edifice to the American people.^ Second, it has been 
urged that the White House be given up entirely to public business, 
and that a residence for the President be built on one of the command- 
ing hills overlooking the city. This plan, however, has not as yet 

^ Celebration of the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Establishment of the Seat 
of Government in the District of Columbia, compiled by William V. Cox; address of 
Col. Theodore A. Bingham, pp. 61-71. 

63 



Memorial Bridge. 




Executive group. 



^"s'i'jp^i^- 




Wiir OnlloRe uiiil Enffineers School. 



NO. 21. -BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF GENERAL PLAN, 



FROM A POINT TAKEN 4,000 FEET ABOVE THE GOVERNMENT HOSPITAL 



FOR THE INSANE. 



64 PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

commended itself to popular opinion. The third alternative is that 
the Executive offices be removed from the White House, and that the 
Presidents House (as the White House was termed officialh^ until about 
1860) be devoted entirely to residence purposes. This latter plan is 
favored by the present Chief Executive; and to the Commission it 
seems to be the best solution of the problem possible at this time. 

The location of the building to contain the Executive offices is a 
more difficult matter; but the Commission are of the opinion that 
while temporary quarters may well be constructed in the grounds 
of the White House, a building sufficient in size to accommodate those 
offices may best be located in the center of Lafayette Square. This 
suggestion must be taken in connection with the full development of 
the plan outlined below. 

There is a present and pressing need for new buildings for existing 
Departments. The Department of Justice is without a home, and the 
site selected for a new building (a portion of the square opposite the 
Treasury Department) is admitted to be inadequate for the erection 
of a suitable structure. The State, War, and Navy Departments, now 
housed in a single building, are in so crowded a condition that they are 
occupying additional rented quarters. For the sake of convenience 
these Departments should be accessible to the White House, which is 
their common center. The proper solution of the problem of the 
grouping of the Executive Departments undoubtedly is to be found in 
the construction of a series of edifices facing Lafayette Square, thus 
repeating for those Departments the group of buildings for the Legis- 
lative and Judicial Departments planned to the Capitol grounds. 
Certainly both dignity and beauty can best be attained by such a dis- 
position of public edifices. 

The execution of this plan ma}^ best begin by erecting on the entire 
square bounded by Pennsylvania avenue, Jackson place, H, and Seven- 
teenth streets a building for the use of the Departments of State and 
of Justice. The square opposite the Treasur}^ Department will be 
required before many years by the Post-Office Department, now most 
unvvorthil}^ and inadequate!}" housed in rooms over the local post- 
office; and b}^ the Department of Commerce, soon to be created. It is 
quite possible also that the Interior Department may find it most con- 
venient to give up to the growing needs of the Patent Office its present 
noble building, and to come into closer physical relations with the other 



GKOUPING OF BUILDINGS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS. 65 

Executive Departments. The Ag-ricultural Department, however, 
being- the nucleus of a g-reat number of laboratories requiring a maxi- 
mum of light and air, may properly have its new building located, as 
at present proposed, on the grounds in the Mall, now set apart for 
its uses. 

Such a group of buildings, with the Executive offices for a center, 
as the Capitol is the center of the Legislative group, will result in a 
composition of the greatest possible dignit}-^ and impressiveness.^ 

' Since this report was made the President lias placed Mr. McKim in charge of the 
reinstatement of the White House; and plans have been prepared for the construc- 
tion of a temporary office building in the White House grounds on the west; and for 
the restoration of the President's house in such a manner as to increase the available 
space therein by about one-half. 



THE AREA SOUTH OF PENNSYLVANIA 
AVENUE. 



S. Rep. 166 10 



67 



THE AREA SOUTH OF PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE. 



DURING the past two decades a sentiment has develope'd both 
among- the residents of the District and also in Congress, that 
the area between Pennsylvania avenue and the Mall should 
be reclaimed from its present uses b}^ locating within that section 
important public buildings. The avenue itself is one of the historic 
thoroughfares of the world, a preeminence attained b}^ reason of 
the fact that it connects the Executive Department with the Legisla- 
tive and Judicial Departments of Government, and so has become the 
route of those processions which celebrate great occasions in peace 
and war, or which from time to time mark the change of Adminis- 
trations. Although within recent years imposing buildings devoted 
to business purposes have been erected on the north side of the ave- 
nue, nevertheless, for the most part, the thoroughfare, spacious as 
it is in itself considered, is lined by structures entirely unworthy of 
the conspicuous positions they occupy. The upbuilding of Pennsyl- 
vania avenue, therefore, must of necessity have consideration in any 
compi'ehensive plan for the treatment of Washington. 

The extension of B street north eastward to Pennsylvania avenue, 
and the inclusion within the Mall of the space south of that street, as 
extended, will in part solve the problem. Furthermore, the present 
location of the city post-oflSce and of the great central market, together 
with the fact that the business of the city is concentrated largely along 
this avenue, both suggest that within this area the public buildings of 
tho municipality, as distinct from the General Government, may well 
be located. The Commission have the more confidence in making this 
recommendation for the reason that, bj^ common consent and by positive 
action as well, a site for a District building was set apart in front of the 
present Center Market, and for nearly thirty years the District of 
Columbia virtual!}" has been paying an annual rental for that site, in the 

69 



70 PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

decreased rents charged the market compain^ in consideration of the 
relinquishment of a portion of their propert}" to be used as the site of 
a municipal building. 

Inadequate as to size, the location of the site is especially adapted 
to the end soug'ht. Occupying a position midwa}^ between the White 
House and the Capitol, situated at the point of convergence of wide 
avenues, located in the very center of business activity, placed on a 
line with the dignified building of the Department of the Interior and 
of the new Carnegie Library, the site selected would give to the Dis- 
trict building and to the municipality^ it represents a distinction and a 
dignit}" all its own. No other site would so assert the individualitj^ of 
the District of Columbia. This individuality would be still further 
enhanced by grouping within the same general area other buildings 
municipal or semi-municipal in character. In this connection the 
axial relation existing between the proposed site and the present loca- 
tion of the District courts should not be overlooked.^ 

The location of the District building at the point named would bring 
about a much-needed change in market conditions. As at present con- 
ducted, a large portion of the market business is conducted in public 
thoroughfares, to the inconvenience of travel and to the disturbance 
of municipal good order. Congress having retained an option of pur- 
chase, the market may well be removed to a location west of the present 
one, where could be provided a sufficient area, within which territory 
the business could be conducted within the market itself without 
encroaching upon the public thoroughfares. This new market should 
be constructed with streets running through it, as is the case in the 
admirable examples at Paris, Budapest, and other cities of continental 
Europe. 

Within the same general area should be constructed an amory suf- 
ficient in size to accommodate the brigade of District militia; and 
since the inauguration of the President of the United States is regarded 
as a municipal and not as a national function, the armory should be of 
a character to accommodate the inaugural balls now, given in the Pension 
Bureau, to the disturbance of public business. 

Also the much-needed new police court, the police and fire head- 
quarters, an enlarged emergency hospital, and other like divisions 



^ The omnibus public buildings act of 1902 locates the munidipal building on the 
site between Thirteen-and-a-half and Fourteenth streets south of Pennsylvania 
avenue. 



THE AREA SOUTH OF PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE. 



71 



of civic administration should tind local habitations in immediate 
proximit}^ to the District building. 

In such manner, gradually, and as municipal needs become insistent, 
the entire space should be occupied, transformed from its present 
un worth}^ conditions into a section haying a distinct character, and also 
being closeh^ related to its environment. 




Bulfinch Gatepost, formerly on Capitol grounds. 



OUTLYING PARKS AND PARK CONNECTIONS. 



73 



THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE PARKS. 



ENCIRCLING the cit}^ of Washington on the west, north, east, 
and, if the Potomac River be included, on the south also, are 
situated the areas in which are the paries of the District as dis- 
tinguished from the city squares and grounds appertaining to public 
buildings. For the most part these areas are in their natural state, with 
hills and valleys, plateaus and ravines, as yet untouched by the pick and 
shovel of the improver; but along main lines the building is advancing at 
such a rate as to make it certain that within a few decades city blocks 
and asphalt paving will occup}^ the areas already marked out on the 
permanent system of highways. Whatever of natural beaut}^ is to be 
preserved and whatever park spaces are still to be acquired must 
be provided for during the next few years or it will be forever too late. 

Fortunateh" the larger areas necessar}^ for an adequate park system 
have either been acquired or are awaiting reclamation. What remains 
to be done is to select and acquire those areas which are best fitted 
for connections between existing parks; to provide for the preserva- 
tion and improvement of certain spots of exceptional beaut}^, like the 
chain of abandoned forts encircling the District; to bring into use for 
pleasure purposes the wild and picturesque banks of the Potomac, 
and to secure many smaller spaces in order to extend the park sj^stem 
of the city to keep pace with the extension of the streets and avenues. 
In order to make clear how the above-mentioned tracts relate to the 
city and to each other it is necessary to explain the topograph}^ of the 
region in which the}^ lie. 

The District of Columbia, extending for ten miles along the left bank 
of the Potomac, is divided into three distinct parts by two tributar}^ 
Natural conditions streams, the Auacostia River to the southeast of the 
of tiie District. center, and Rock Creek to the northwest. Both val- 

le^^s are deep and are flanked by high hills; but the vallej^^ of the Ana- 
costia is broad while that of Rock Creek is narrow and abrupt. The 

75 



76 PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

southeasterly section, beyond the Anacostia River, consists of a series 
of long- connecting- ridges, ranging from 160 to 300 feet in height above 
the river, comparatively flat on top, but cut up by small vallej^s on 
their flanks into innumerable projecting points and minor sloping 
ridges. 

The northwestern section is a more solid mass, rising- abruptly from 
the Potomac to a height of 100 feet or more, sloping up to an eleva- 
tion of 300 feet within half or three-quarters of a mile and reaching to 
over 100 feet in the middle of the area. The mass is dissected, like 
the Anacostia ridges, by numerous steep-sided valleys, some flowing 
east into Rock Creek and some south into the Potomac. The steep- 
ness of the declivities and the considerable height of the hills in both 
of these sections constantly present extensive and impressive views. 

The central section is subdivided into a northern, outer, hilly part, 
similar to the sections alread}^ described, although not so abrupt in its 
topography, and a southern or inner part, forming the point between 
the two main valleys, of gently undulating surface and occupied by 
the main bod}" of the city of Washington. It was this inner portion, 
admirabl}" adapted to urban development, that was originally selected 
and laid out as the Federal city, with an area as large as the areas of 
densel}^ built European capitals of a hundred years ago, but quite 
insuflicient for a modern city of large population. The three outer 
sections of the district, healthful and charming- as country, are very 
ill adapted for ordinar}^ urban occupation, and their use for such pur- 
poses involves many difiicult problems which have not all been suc- 
cessfully solved as yet. 

The most important feature of the Washington climate, so far as it 
affects the park problem, is the oppressive summer heat which the 
Government officials and employees and other residents must for the 
most part undergo — a factor which seems to call strongly for several 
palliatives: the maintenance of shade, the preservation of many hilltops 
where breezes ma}^ be caught, the preservation of man}^ of the deep, 
shady valleys in which the cooler air appears to settle on summer 
afternoons, and the liberal use of fresh running water all about the 
cit}" and its parks, whether in the form of springs and brooks or of 
fountains and basins. 

If the present distribution of park lands within the boundary of the 
old city of Washington is, as we believe, no more than reasonable, and 
if the distribution of parks in and around the capitals of other great 



EXISTING LAKGE PARKS AND PROPOSED ADDITIONS. 77 

nations and our own large cities is not unreasonable, it is evident from 

a glance at the accompanying- diagrams that a considerable increase in 

... the number of parks in the outer part of the District 

The need for adni- i i 

tioiiiii parks. jg absolutely requisite if provision is to be made for 

the needs of the immediate future. It is true that the resident popu- 
lation of Washington at the present time is much smaller than the 
population of such capitals as London and Paris, or such American 
cities as New York and Boston, with which its park area is compared 
in these diagrams, but even in proportion to its present population it 
would not compare verj^ favorably with Paris as to park area; and it 
is to be remembered, first, that Washington is growing very rapidly 
with the growth of the nation in numbers and prosperit}^, and. second, 
that its parks, like its public buildings, are not to be considered merely 
in reference to its resident population, but in relation to the millions 
of citizens from far and near who come to Washington expecting, and 
having a right to expect, that here, at the seat of government, they 
shall find not merely what is considered "good enough " in their work- 
aday home cities, where most of the citizens' energ}^ must perforce be 
spent on commercial struggles, but the very best that is to be had. 

In considering what might wisel}" be added to the park system, we 
have not iixed upon any arbitrary proportion to area or to estimated 
population, but have selected onlv those places which from their 
natural conditions, whether because of steepness, inaccessibility, or 
difficulties of drainage, or from their peculiar and exceptional natural 
beauty, seemed likely to bring a smaller return to the community if 
used for the ordinary purposes of private occupanc}^ than if used for 
parks. In order to have a sound basis for our conclusions, we have 
made careful personal examinations of nearly all parts of the District. 
This examination has been guided and supplemented hj the use of the 
admirable topographical map of the District made b}' the Coast and 
Geodetic Survey. When our general conclusions were reached, the 
proposed additions were plotted on the map; and, after carefully con- 
sidering their relations to the highway extension system and other 
proposed improvements, we examined the lines on the ground with 
map in hand. Before coming to definite conclusions, and, indeed, 
throughout our investigation, we consulted with the District Commis- 
sioners and their assistants, with the ofiicer in charge of the Potomac 
Flats improvements, and with other officials, all of whom were most con- 
siderate in giving information and advising with us. 



TREATMENT OF THE MINOR RESERVATIONS. 



WITHIN the old city limits no additional small reservations are 
needed, but in the remaining f our-tif ths of the District there 
are practically none, as against 275 in the cit}". Distributed 
with the same wise foresight as was shown by the founders of the city, 
and with equal liberality, there should be some ten or twelve hundred 
in the outlying district. Without adopting any such arbitrar}^ rule, 
we can say that considerable numbers of these minor spaces ought now 
to be secured while much of the land is selling at acre prices. In many 
cases there is no strong ground of choice among several good areas in 
one neighborhood, and the final determination must depend very 
largel}' upon the prices at which the several parcels are offered by their 
owners. 

Aside from a few particularly agreeable groves, the points that are 
singled out by natural conditions as especially worthj^ of preservation 
are mainly hilltops from which extensive views ma}^ be obtained. 
It so happens that most of these hilltops from their commanding- 
positions were occupied by forts during the civil war as part of 
the defenses of Washington, thus adding historical associations to 
the reasons which would otherwise suggest their acquisition. As the 
small areas thus specifically recommended for purchase are shown on 
map No. D-288 and are enumerated in detail in Appendix I, it will 
suffice to say here that the}" number IT and amount to a. total area of 
364 acres. To these should be added a much greater number of 
small pieces, which can be selected more wisely bv a board authorized 
to negotiate with the landowners and obtain options. 

One other point to be borne in mind in choosing these reservations is 
that the future will call for schoolhouses in all parts of the District, and 
that it will be of the utmost value to secure in advance well-distributed 
schoolhouse sites having adequate area suitable for playgrounds. 

S. Rep. 166 11 79 



80 



PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA. 



There are within the cit}^ 26 squares, circles, etc., between one acre 
and 25 acres in extent, and 275 ranging from one acre down to 405 
square feet, making a total of 301, with a total acreage of 166.93.^ 

Most of the larger of these areas occupy well-chosen and important 
positions suggested b}^ the lay of the land, and the original street sys- 
tem of the cit}^ was adapted to them so as to recog-nize and emphasize 
their importance, while most of the smaller areas are pieces left at the 
intersections of the streets thus determined. They are distributed quite 
uniformly throughout the original city, but practically" none have yet 
been provided for the remaining f our-hf ths of the District. 

With the exception of one, temporarily fitted for use as a play- 
ground, those that have been improved^ have been treated in accord- 
ance with one general ideal, although exhibiting some variet}^ in 

arrangement and de- 
tail. The treatment 
adopted aims to pro- 
vide an agreeable 
appearance to pass- 
ers-b3\and shade and 
pleasant suri'ound- 
ings for those who 
resort to the squares 
for recreation. To 
these ends they are 
generall}^ planted 
with trees, turfed, 
more or less deco- 
rated with shrubs, 
flowers, and sculptural monuments, often defined and protected by 
curbing or fences, and when of sufiicient size provided with paths 
and benches. Unfortunatel}" for the general effect, the sculptural 
decorations have seldom been treated as a part of the design, but have 
been inserted as independent objects valued for their historic or memo- 
rial qualities or sometimes for their individual beauty, regardless of the 
effect on their surroundings. 

Treated as they are, these well-distributed areas are of the utmost 

^A detailed list will be found in Appendix G. Tables I and II, page 153. 
''About 35 per cent of the total number have been "improved," and 2-4 per cent 
"partially improved." 




Water basin at the Villa Medici, Rome. 



TEEATMENT OF THE MINOE RESERVATIONS. 



81 



Playgrounds. 






value to the eit}^, contributing- largely to the cheerful and comfortable 
character by which all visitors are struck and attracted; but we believe 
that without the sacrifice of this effect it would be possible to intro- 
duce a greater variety of treatment, giving each area a more distinct 
individuality and providing- for more special forms of recreation chosen 
with a view to the surroundings and capabilities of each particular 
area. 

One such special use to which several squares should be devoted in 
different parts of the city is that of playgrounds; and these, too, 
should be considered individually and not in an}^ wholesale or uniform 
way. In some cases they should provide especially 
for little children, with smooth protected lawns, with 
swings and teeter boards, with sand courts, and with safe and shallow 
wading pools in view of sheltered seats for the mothers or nurses. 
In some there 
should be regular 
outdoor gymnasia, 
with apparatus for 
jumping, vaulting, 
climbing, swinging, 
and the like, with 
tracks for running 
and spaces for the 
lesser athletic con- 
tests, such as put- 
ting the shot and 
quoits and bowling; 
in others there 
should be provision 
for the larger games, whether the schoolboys' games of tag and pris- 
oners-base and scrub, or the organized games of baseball and football 
between regular teams. 

But even within the limits oi more passive recreation there might well 
be some specialization; some areas, for instance, arranged as shady con- 
cert groves, with little or no turf, for the comfortable accommodation 
of large crowds at band concerts; one oi more places arranged for 
night illuminations with electric fountains, and for the display of fire- 
works on the occasion of national celebrations; one or more squares 
treated with a series of basins for the display of the brilliant aquatic 





No. 165. — Open-air restaurant in the Prater, Vienna. 



82 PAEK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

flowers; some devoted especial!}' to evergreen winter efl'ects; and ver}^ 
many arranged in all their details with a ^'iew to giving the maximum 
refreshment in the hot smnmer weather by means of shade well dis- 
tributed and by means of gushing, rippling, sparkling, living water — 
not in a series of repeated commonplace forms, but infinite in its varia- 
tions, and when wisel}" used alwavs full of a new charm and refreshment. 
The amount invested in the land of these squares at current prices 
amounts to several million dollars, and to secure a fair rate of interest 
in recreative value requires the application of as much purposeful 
ingenuity and well-trained judgment in design and management as is 
needed in the conduct of anj^ business enterprise of similar magnitude.^ 

^The existing parks are sliown on map No. D-287; the proposed additions are 
shown on map N^o. D-288; the positions and boundaries of the several areas dis- 
cussed in this report can be followed most readily on the combined map No. D-289. 



THE LARGER PARKS AND THEIR CONNECTIONS. 



IN discussing- the larger parks and their connections we shall begin 
at the western end of the Mall, and take the western, central, and 
eastern sections of the District in order, ending* with the Potomac 
Park on the south. Beginning at the site of the Lincoln memorial, 
at the westerly extremity of the Mall as extended to the Potomac, 
a parkwa}^ should skirt the bank of the Potomac to the mouth of 
Rock Creek. 

A broad, paved quay or landing place should extend the shore line 
out to the deep main channel and present to the river a smooth, con- 
tinuous wall, instead of jutting piers which retard the 

Potomac (juay. 

current and tend to cause shoaling. This quay should 
be on a level with the adjacent land, which„ is likel}^ to be occupied 
in the future, as at present, by various industries using bulky water- 
borne freight — such as coal yards, gas works, paving- concerns, and 
the like — to which the material can be transferred from the quay 
by wagons, tram cars, or belt conveyors, much as it is now handled 
hy the more enterprising abutters. The park drive and promenade 
should be carried through at the landward side of the quay proper, 
between it and the commercial establishments, but at a higher level 
with frequent arched openings underneath for the transfer of goods, 
and possibly, also, for storage purposes. 

Separated by the difference in level from actual conflict with the 
pleasure travel, the activity of the water front would really add to 
the interest of the parkwaj^ and give a character to it possessed by 
no other in this country. In several European river cities, notably 
Paris, Vienna, and Budapest, there are such combinations of a com- 
mercial quay with a promenade at a higher level, and they form, in 
many cases, the most popular and delightful resorts for the people; 
but in no case, we believe, are the conditions so favorable as at Wash- 

83 



84 



PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



ington, for elsewhere the abutting private land and streets arc invari- 
ably at the higher level, thus necessitating the transfer of goods up 
occasional inclines and across the promenade at grade, whereas, in this 
instance, merchandise can be readil}" transferred at any point without 
the least interference between business and pleasure. 

This qua}^ treatment is proposed for the entire stretch between 
Potomac Park and the Pennsylvania avenue bridge across Rock Creek, 
as the lower portion of the creek is a part of the Chesapeake and Ohio 
Canal, and is as much a part of the commercial water front as the 




i&j -f -;5; '^ s: r F 



No. 10. — Typical treatment of Potomac Quay. 

Potomac itself; but above Pennsj^lvania aA'enue entirely different con- 
ditions prevail, and another treatment must be adopted. Moreover, 
it is to be understood that the accompanying section for the qua^^ 
is merely typical, and would be modified at various points to meet 
local conditions — at places b}^ the omission of the street on the inner 
side of the drive, at places by different arrangements of the levels, at 
places, perhaps, b}" the omission of the inner retaining wall and the 
substitution of a bank. The precise line, moreover, of the quav front 
and of the taking line can be fixed only after a detailed survey, with 
soundings and foundation tests; but in the main the project here set 
forth is unquestionably practicable, and would provide at once the 
most convenient and the most agreeable treatment for the connection 
between the parks and for the commercial water front. 

It would be possible, if it should ultimately be thought wise, to 
continue a similar treatment along the whole frontage of Georgetown 
Harbor, and thus to arrange a continuous drive along the river from 
Potomac Park past the Aqueduct Bridge and by a rising grade to the 
upper Potomac drive, but such a construction would be so costly 
that it has not been seriously contemplated, the more so as the diffi- 
culties in the way of such an undertaking are not likelj" to increase 
with the passage of time. 



S. Rep. 166 12 



THE LARGER PARKS AND THEIR CONNECTIONS. 85 

Two radically different plans have been suggested as alternatives in 
the treatment of Rock Creek and its accompanying 

Eoek Creek Parkway. t-> i • 

parkway between Pennsylvania avenue and Massa- 
chusetts avenue: 

First. To build a large covered masonry culvert or sewer for the 
creek, and to fill around and over this structure so as to obliterate the 
valley and raise it to the level of the adjacent lands, constructing a 
parkway or boulevard upon a portion of the filled land and subdivid- 
ing the remainder into streets and lots for sale.^ 

Second. To improve the present open channel of the creek, regrade 
its banks, and improve them for park purposes, and to construct roads 
and paths within the park thus formed, spanning the vallev by fre- 
quent street bridges to provide close connection with Georgetown.^ 




No. 12. — Typical section of Rock Creek Parkway — Alternative project with covered channel. 

The general character of the two projects is indicated by the accom- 
panying sections. 

The Massachusetts avenue crossing over Rock Creek has been 
designed and is under construction as a culvert and fill upon the 
assumption that the first plan will be carried out, but although this 
fill will interfere with the perfect: execution of the open valley plan, 
we feel compelled to recommend the definite adoption of the latter 
on grounds of economy, convenience, and beaut}". An explicit state- 
ment of the steps which led to this conclusion would burden the 
report needlessly and is therefore confined to Appendix D, page 135. 

^ Discussed, except as to construction of jiarkway, in Senate Mis. Doc. No. 21, 
Fifty-second Congress, second session. 

^ Proposed by committee of Washington Board of Trade, December 15, 1899. See 
Park Improvement Papers, No. 7. 



86 PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA. 

We may point out, however, that the park drives and paths under the 
open-vallej^ plan would be separated by grade, like those of the 
Georgetown Harbor quay, from conflict with the commercial traffic 
of a busy district; but while the activity of the water front is inter- 
esting- to look down upon, the sights of the inland region between 
Pennsylvania avenue and Q street are for the most part mereW 
shabby, sordid, and disagreeable. It is therefore a very fortunate 
opportunity that permits the seclusion of the parkwa}^ in a valley the 
immediate sides of which can be controlled and can be made to limit 
the view to a self-contained landscape, which may be beautiful even 
though restricted. North of Q street the valley becomes very attract- 
ive and takes on something of the sylvan character which it has in its 
upper portion. A branch drive should lead to Sheridan circle, and the 
main drive should rise along the easterly side of the valley so as to 




No. 11. — Typical section of Rock Creek Parkway — Treatment recommended. 

get a plunging view and so as to pass just under Massachusetts avenue, 
permitting an easjr connection with it. From this point to the Zoo- 
logical Park there are no serious difficulties, and the problem reduces 
itself to one of careful and judicious detailed adjustment of the con- 
struction to the topograph}^ and vegetation of the valley. 

The boundaries shown on the map are determined below Q street so 
as to include onh^ what is needed for the proper regrading of the val- 
ley sides and other essential construction. Above that point they are 
determined partly for those reasons, but in places so as to include some 
exceptional!}^ fine hillside woods that now form an important part of 
the -valley landscape, and if cut down and replaced by houses would 
utterly change its character. In so far as it was practicable, without 
essential injury to the parkway, we have followed lines already fixed 
for streets on the highwaj^ plans and elsewhere have provided for new 
boundary streets. 




I I 



< I 



5 z 



O < 



THE LAEGEE PAEKS AND THEIE CONNECTIONS. 87 

The Zoological Park, 170 acres in extent, lies along* Rock Creek 

about 2 miles from its mouth and directly northwest from the central 

part of the city. Although regular!}^ open to the 

Zoolosriciil Park. ' , . 

public as a place ot recreation, the purpose of the park 
is distinct!}" specialized, namely, to preserve and exhibit a collection of 
living animals under agreeable and natural surroundings. The health 
of the animals and the convenience of the public in seeing them must 
be the controlling considerations here, and the natural landscape of 
the park, although of recognized importance, must necessarih' be 
modified and adapted to the provision of numerous buildings, fences, 
roads, and paths, and the need of bare ground or pavement that is 
caused b}- crowds of people and herds of animals. The natural condi- 
tion of rugged S34van wildness could not, therefore, consistently be 
maintained in this park, but the steep topograph}^ and the passages of 
untouched woods suggest a picturesqueness in the style and arrange- 
ment of the artificial constructions which has been followed for the 
most part successfully. 

In the future development of the park there are two dangers to be 
guarded against — the introduction, on the one hand, of buildings or 
other constructions or plantations of a highly organized and formal 
character, out of harmony with the character already adopted; and on 
the other, the confusion due to the scattering of numerous structures and 
features without any method or massing. There is always the danger, 
too, in attempting picturesque and rugged effects in a place resorted 
to by large crowds that the accommodation for the crowds will be 
made insufficient through fear of making the paths, roads, steps, and 
the like, too conspicuous, with the result that the crowds overflow the 
places made for them and reduce the whole park to shabbiness. One 
of the most important points, therefore, in the continued improve- 
ment of the Zoological Park is to watch its use carefull}-; to forecast 
its future use b}" larger crowds, and to provide such accommodations 
that the people will be led always to concentrate their wear and tear 
on the places prepared to withstand it, leaving the remainder fresh and 
wild looking, to give character to the whole. 

Certain additions are very essential to the proper treatment and 
maintenance of the park, and we can not urge too strongly that these 
be made without delay. A statement of them, with the reason for 
each, is to be found in Appendix I. 



88 PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA. 

Rock Creek Park occupies the valle}^ of the creek from the Zoolog- 
ical Park northward to the District line, including- an area of 1,605.9 
acres varying in width from less than 300 j^ards to a 
little over a mile, with a total length of about 4 miles. 
The valley is crooked and narrow and flanked by steep, high, and 
thickly wooded hills. In the southern portion of the park some of 
the hill tops are comparatively level, but with the exception of these 
limited plateaus and a few narrow strips of bottom land along the 
creek the whole area is hilly in the extreme. Most of the land is tim- 
bered and much of the wood is of considerable age and beauty, espe- 
ciall}^ in the narrow and gorge-like portions of the valle}", offering 
some very beautiful S3dvan scenery. This has recently been made 
accessible b}^ a macadamized . road, known as Beach Drive, along the 
creek from the Zoological Park halfway to the northern end, connect- 
ing with the Military road at that point, and continued by an earth 
road along the remainder of the creek. This road, which was very 
skillfully laid out, has brought a large number of visitors into the 
valle}^ to enjoy the beauty of its scenery, and, as the road is of limited 
width, there is danger that it may soon become overcrowded; if so, a 
very serious problem in the development of the park will arise at once. 
Narrow as the present road is, and skillfully as it was built, there 
are several points where it has very appreciably injured the scener}^, 
and to widen it b}^ any considerable amount would be a calamity. 
It is true that the value of the park scenery depends absolutely upon 
making it conveniently accessible to the people, but nothing can be 
gained if the means of access destroys the scener}^ which it is meant 
to exhibit, and we believe that as wide a road as the future population 
is likely to demand would injure the character of the valle}' irreme- 
diably. Possibly the solution is to be found in the ultimate construc- 
tion of another and wider drive, or drives, high enough on the valle}^ 
sides to leave the wild svlvan character of the stream at the bottom 
of the gorge uninjured, but 3"et within sight and sound of the water 
and seeming to be of the valle}". Such a road would doubtless require 
more grading, would cost more, and would destroy more trees and 
more square j^ards of pretty undergrowth than a road of equal width 
in the bottom of the gorge, but the damage of the latter would be 
done at the vital spot. It would be the pound of flesh from nearest 
the heart, while the former would compare with the amputation of a 
leg. We discuss this point, not because we wish to urge this par- 



THE LARGER PARKS AND THEIR CONNECTIONS. 89 

ticular treatment, but in order to make clear that the peculiar topog- 
raphy of Rock Creek Park, while giving a great share of beauty, 
renders its development as the principal park of a populous city a 
matter of great perplexity, requiring the most careful study. 

After the completion at its present width of the road along the creek, 
we would advise most urgently that no further work of development 
be attempted until careful studies have been made for the comprehen- 
sive treatment of the whole park, and, if the park is to be made avail- 
able, such studies should be promptly undertaken. This applies not 
only to matters of construction, but to the treatment of the vegetation. 
Should certain open areas be planted in order to block certain unde- 
sirable outlooks? Should certain other areas now growing up with 
young trees be cleared out for the sake of the views, or, if not, which 
are the trees to be encouraged in each instance? Hundreds of such 
questions ought to be asked arid answered before the maintenance and 
improvement of the park can be directed intelligently and economically 
toward the best future results. 

As a rule, the boundary should be upon such a line as to permit the 
construction of a border street, which will separate the park from the 
adjacent property, causing the neighboring buildings to face upon it, 
making it easier to police, and in general adding to its dignity. PartW 
in order to provide for boundary streets on reasonable grades and 
partly that the crests of the overlooking hills may be under the control 
of the park authorities so as to prevent objectionable structures from 
being obtruded into the landscape, a considerable number of additional 
purchases are requisite, as set forth seriatim with specific reasons in 
Appendix I. These additions are of varying degrees of importance, 
but several of them are more essential to the future value of the park 
than adjacent land already acquired, and provision for their purchase 
is one of the most pressing needs of the park sj^stem. 



THE SECTION WEST OF KOCK CREEK. 



\ S an important entrance to Rock Creek Park and in connection 
/\ with the high western section of the District, we propose that 
^ ^ a parkway- be formed in the vallej' of Broad Branch, which 
enters the park at its most western point. The valley is in part gentle 
and open, with scattered trees, and in part steep sided and heavily 
wooded. The treatment would be in efiect that of an elongated park 
contained between two boundary streets and including a sufficient width 
of natural valley scenery to give agreeable surroundings for the main 
drive, bridle path, footpaths, etc. In the rough portion next the park 
the character would be somewhat as indicated by the section on 
page 92, but in general it would be more open and gentle. The width 
between boundary streets would vary from 200 to TOO feet. 

The course would be a little north of west to Connecticut avenue, a 
distance of about three-quarters of a mile. The main drive would pass 
under the avenue, but a branch road would connect with it at grade, 
thus putting the parkway in touch with Chevy Chase and the main 
line of transportation. Beyond Connecticut avenue the branch of the 
valley followed by the parkway turns to the southwest and reaches 
Fort Reno. 

The site of Fort Reno, now occupied by a reservoir, is the highest 
point in the District, 425 feet above tide level, and commands remark- 
ably wide views in all directions. It is highly desir- 

Fort Reno Park. , , . . ■, i c i • 

able that this summit be preserved from exclusive 
private occupation, and we recommend the acquirement of a sufficient 
area to protect the view against obstruction by houses of ordinary 
height on the adjacent slopes. A circle 2,000 feet in diameter would 
attain this end and its boundary would permit the construction of 
a border street at good grades. A short link of parkway w^ould 
connect Fort Reno along the ridge to the soutli with Tenley Circle 



92 PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

at the junction of Nebraska avenue and the Tenleytown road. This 
circle is the point of junction with another important line of 
parkway. 

To the west of Rock Creek the only considerable tract of public open 
land is that at the receiving reservoir, in the extreme corner of the 
District overlooking the gorge of the Potomac. This has therefore 
been taken as the main objective point of the principal parkwaj^ on 
the west, which follows almost the shortest line between the two 
reservations. 

The Soapstone Branch, which enters Broad Branch where the latter 
joins Rock Creek, about a mile below the end of Broad Branch Park- 
way, flows through a rather narrow, well-timbered, 

Soapstone Parkway. 

and beautiful vallej^, heading in open land near Fort 
Reno and Tenleytown. This valley is crossed by Connecticut avenue 
at a point where it is flanked by two high wooded peaks or knuckles 




No. 13. — Typical section of one of the Valley Parkways, such as Piney Branch, Soapstone Creek, and 

Georgetown Parkways. 

rising to an elevation of over 300 feet. Simply as a western entrance 
to Rock Creek Park from Connecticut avenue the lower portion of 
this valley seems quite essential. It is so steep sided that it w^ould 
be costly of development for building purposes, while nothing could 
be better adapted to use as a park entrance, as it afiords an easy grade 
and pleasant scener}^ within narrow limits. 

The two knuckles immediately west of the avenue ought also to be 
preserved, on their own account, as interesting topographical features 
rising high above the streets, and affording to those who will climb 
them extended views toward the east and toward the Monument. 

As part of a through parkway, the valley offers an opportunity for 
the drive to pass under Connecticut avenue with its heav}^ and swift 
suburban electric cars, and to rise through the opener and broader 
stretch to the west, reaching by a slight turn on an easy grade one of 



THE SECTION WEST OF ROCK CREEK. 



93 



the spurs of the hig-h ridge in which the western portion of the Dis- 
trict cuhiiinates. From this point, at an elevation of 340 feet, is to be 
obtained another extensive eastern view down the valle}^ and over Rock 
Creek Park to Soldiers' Home, a view that might well be marked by a 
terrace or concourse, especially as the character of the parkwa}- would 
change at this point from the informal t3^pe appropriate in the wooded 
valley to a formal avenue across the high plateau, the terrace thus 
making a strong terminus for the latter and emphasizing the drop into 
the valley. The formal section would be a widening of Yuma street, 
laid out but not constructed, 
and would lead directly to a 
circle at the junction of Ne- 
braska avenue and Wisconsin 
avenue, commonl}" known as 
Tenley Road, within 2,000 feet 
of the proposed Fort Reno 
Park, the highest point in the 
District of Columbia. In con- 
nection with Nebraska avenue 
extended, a branch drive on 
eas}^ grades can easily be pro- 
vided to Fort Reno, thus bring- 
ing it within easy reach of 
Rock Creek Park and the city. 
From the Tenley circle, con- 
tinuing on the widened Yuma 
street, a distance of about 1,000 
feet brings the line to the 
western escarpment of the narrow plateau, where the land falls rap- 
idl}^ and steadily from its elevation of 410 feet, disclosing a view 
that sweeps due west over mile after mile of rolling country in 
Maryland and across the river to Virginia. To descend from this 
height it would be possible, b}^ cutting at the top of the escarpment 
and filling heavily as the bottom, to avoid excessive grades, but to do 
so would be to ignore the opportunity^ here offered by the topographic 
conditions. Instead of so doing, we should advise carrying the park- 
way level out to the ver}^ brink, there ending it in a projecting con- 
course commanding in its perfection the sunset view, preserved from 
the intrusion of future buildings by the acquisition of the slope in 




No. 154. — Terrace, Villa d'Este, Tivoli, showing how 
a declivity commanding- a view is used and empha- 
sized, not disguised. 



94 PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

view below; then, turning the road, it can be carried down upon a 
veiy easy grade bj^ means of two reverses on the hillside, giving the 
opportunity at some future time of developing a splendid series of 
terraces facing the view and the mile-long continuation of the park- 
way to the reservoir and the District line. 

The receiving reservoir grounds, 281. T5 acres in extent, situated at 

the westerly edge of the District, close to the Potomac Eiver, lie 

partl}^ in the State of Maryland. That portion in 

RBCoiviiiff rcsprvoir. 

' the District is heavily wooded and the land is of a 
basin -like formation. No views of any importance are to be had from 
this land except that portion which touches the palisades of the Poto- 
mac. From this portion, however, views up and down the river are 
to be had, and in the remainder time and care will develop some very 
beautiful woodland scener}^ to which the large pond-like reservoir will 
give great interest. This land should, therefore, be treated consist- 
ently with a view to its ultimate development as a park. An adjacent 
block of land, including the site of Battery Vermont, purchased by 
the District for a girls' reform school is no longer needed for its origi- 
nal purpose, and ma3^be grouped with the receiving reservoir for park 
purposes. 

At the receiving-reservoir grounds is reached the gorge of the 

Potomac and the popular Conduit road, which provides the only way, 

except b}^ trolley cars, to see the gorge from above. 

Potomac Drive. .. ,. ••ij_j^j.i-i.ii 

As its construction was a mere incident to the installa- 
tion of the water supply, the location of the Conduit road was not fixed 
with regard to aesthetic effect, but from the fact that in many parts of 



No. 14.— Typical section of Potomac Drive, a slK.irt distance above Aqueduct Bridge. 

its course it follows near the edge of the declivity, presenting very 
fine views, and because its grades are generally good, it is more resorted 



THE SECTION WEST OF ROCK CREEK. 95 

to than ai\Y drive leading- out of the District, except the one to x-Vrling- 
ton. We believe that permanent provision should be made for the 
ends that are tilled in a temporary and partial manner by the Conduit 
road and that this provision should take the form of what might be 
called a cliff drive along the Potomac, including in the holdings, in 
order to prevent objectionable occupanc}', all the unoccupied steep land 
from the top of bluff* down to the river. 

At the upper or landward edge would run a street for traffic and for 
house frontage, next below would run the trolle}^ line, altered in places 
from its present location, and then, in the best position to present the 
changing panorama of the river, would come the pleasure drive and the 
promenade, fitted to the steep and irregular hillside by well-adjusted 
slope and wall. Still farther down comes the picturesque canal and 
its bordering roadway, and in places there might be call for a road 




No. 16. — Typiea!! .section of Potomac Drive below the Chain Bridge. 

close down by the river's edg-e. The arrangement of these several 
parts would var}- with the varying conditions of the bluff', as is sug- 
gested in the accompanying typical sections, but alwa5^s the effect 
would be picturesque and always the plunging views from the upper 
lines would be fine. Merely to provide for a street at the top of the 
slope is not enough, for, although the land is for the most part too 
steep to have much commercial value, yet here and there ugly and 
offensive buildings are likely to creep in, as the}" have done somewhat 
in the past, unless the slope is all acquired with a view to a consistent 
treatment. Years ago New York showed the wa}" in the Riverside 
drive, and it is high time that the example should be followed here, at 
least so far as concerns the acquisition of the land. 

But such a treatment of the river side logicallj^ ought not to stop at 
the District line. Indeed, the best of the scenerj^ lies beyond, espe- 
cially in the neighborhood of Cabin John Bridge and in the region 



96 PAKK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

just about and below the Great Falls. The Great Falls of the Potomac, 
considering their proximity" to the capital, are quite as well worth pres- 
ervation for their grandeur and natural beauty as the greater passages 
of scener}^ in the national parks of the West. Even at present, when 
the onl}^ means of approach is by canal or over the hilh" detour bv 
which the road is carried around the most interesting scenerj", the 
Washington public goes to the Great Falls in sufficient numbers to 
maintain the pay bridge to the islands, erected by private enterprise, 
and with increased facilities of access the place is likely to become 
a deservedly popular resort. The falls form one of the greatest 
cataracts of our Atlantic watershed, and while they themselves can not 
be injured, 3^et the great trees that once clothed their banks have been 
cut, and in private hands the surroundings may be so injured as to 
detract greath' fiom the beauty and grandeur of the scene. Without 
interfering with the future utilization of the water power, the sur- 
roundings of the Great Falls on both sides of the river should, in our 
opinion, be converted into a national park, to be connected with the 
city b}" a continuous river drive. 

The beauty of the scenery along the route of this proposed noble 
river-side improvement is so rare and, in the minds of the Commission, 
of so great value not only to all Washington, but to all visitors, Ameri- 
can and foreign, that it should be safeguarded in every way. No build- 
ing should be allowed between the drives and the river, and no change 
should come to pass in the character of the canal that will tend to 
transform its primitive character and quaint beauty. The canal has a 
charm of its own, as, half disclosed and half revealed, it winds among 
the trees; and not the least part of this charm, so desirable to be pre- 
served, is the slow, old-fashioned movement of the boats and of the 
people on and near this ancient waterway. Already the canal is used, 
aside from the navigation of commerce, by pleasure seekers in canoes, 
and by excursion parties in various craft. More and more will the 
canal be thus used as an attractive route between the populous cit}^ 
and the natural charms of the picturesque region between Cabin John 
Bridge and Great Falls. The preservation and continuance of the 
canal in its original character will thus add elements of gayety and life 
to a scene much to be enjoyed by the passers-by on the neighboring 
and upper roadways. Beyond the canal lies an area of lowlands, here 
and there bowlder-strewn and set with clumps of trees. It is now 
available in part for pasture. As a whole it is in keeping with the 



THE SECTIQIS" WEST OF EOCK CREEK.. 97 

uncultivated hilltops of the Virginia Palisades, and would best be left 
without formal treatment. 

One of the boldest of the hills rising- to the north of the Potomac 

Palisades is that occupied by Fort Kemble. On account of the extent 

of its view to the southward, and still more on account 

Fort Kemble Park. 

of the beautiful valley sloping toward the Potomac 
over which this view is to be seen, we recommend the acquirement 
of a park of about 17i acres, serving as a southern terminus of 
Nebraska avenue and connecting it by a park drive in the valley with 
the road along the Palisades. The boundaries are fixed rather 
closely bj^ the need of preserving the views intact and securing 
border streets on reasonable grade without excessive cut and fill. 

On a neighboring hill, the site of Battery Parrott is but little less 
important as a view point and local park. Its boundaries, including 

an area of about 1.82 acres, are fixed by the streets 

Battery Parrott. "^ 

of the highway plan and include what is needful to 
preserve the best views. 

To bring the upper Potomac into direct connection with the city 
and to provide an approach from Georgetown to the Zoological Park 
Georgetown Park- ^"^ Rock Creek, a parkway is proposed from the end 
^'*''* of Potomac drive at the valley of Foundry Branch, 

half a mile above the Aqueduct Bridge, to Rock Creek parkway 
near Massachusetts avenue. 

The valley of Foundry Branch must be spanned by a viaduct a little 
north of the present electric railway trestle, and as the valley is deep, 
narrow, and picturesque, it would be well to preserve it as a part of the 
parkwa}^ between the New Cut road and the river. From this valley the 
line would cross the ridge upon the end of which stands the Georgetown 
observatory, and run on a direct line by eas}^ grades to the gap south of 
the Naval Observatorj^ In passing through the lands of Georgetown 
College, which are likely to remain alwaj^s agreeable and park-like, 
the width might be reduced to the minimum requisite for a single 
drive and paths. Beyond New Cut road the arrangement should be 
similar to that indicated on the alternative section for Rock Creek 
parkway on page 85. 

In crossing the ridge at Thirty-fifth street and the Tenleytown road 
the central drive would be depressed below the side streets, both for the 
sake of an easy gradient and in order to pass beneath those two busy 
streets. East of this ridge the takings should widen out so as to pre- 



98 PAEK SYSTEM OF THE DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA. 

serve the charming valley scenery which extends from this point to 
Rock Creek. Here the parkway would be of the type indicated in 
section on page 86. A branch similar in treatment should connect 
with the Naval Observatory grounds. 

The boundaries are so fixed as to provide for border streets on rea- 
sonable grades, including the best of the valle}^ scenerj" and permitting 
the construction of a central drive, paths, and so forth, without 
destroying its beauty; but, in addition to these absolute requirements, 
a projecting piece of land of about 13.5 acres is included in order to 
provide a dignified and convenient entrance to the park system from 
U street. Georgetown, and at the same time to aflord a much-needed 
local park and playground. 



THE SECTION EAST OF ROCK CREEK. 



TURNING from the western to the central section, it is of the 
utmost importance to secure aii agreeable park-like connec- 
tion between Rock Creek Park and Soldiers' Home as bringing 
into organic relation two of the largest and most beautiful places of 
recreation l.ying within reach of the principal residence district of the 
city, and considered in relation to the proposed new holdings such a 
connection would form one of the links binding the eastern and the 
western parks into a comprehensive S3^stem. 

Starting from the Pinej^ Branch entrance of Rock Creek Park at Six- 
teenth street, the line would continue for some distance in the valley 
of Piney Branch, thus taking advantage of one of the most charming- 
passages of natural valley scenery in the District. This leads to the 
grounds of the Municipal Hospital, which will always be maintained 
in a park-like and attractive fashion. Rising from the vallej^ by an 
easy grade along the southerly side of the hospital grounds, which the 
parkway takings would round out and complete, the route would enter 
a formal plaza to be created at the Seventh street entrance to the 
hospital, where there will be a convergence of streets, according to the 
adopted highwa}^ plan, from eight diiierent directions. Between this 
point and the Soldiers' Home it would be eas}^ to form, by widening 
Savannah street, a magnificent formal boulevard 4,000 feet in length, 
terminated on the west by the new hospital buildings and on the east 
by the Soldiers' Home itself. While the present buildings of the 
latter do not lie exactly on the axis of Savannah street, the projected 
new building, if placed so as to complete the quadrangle already par- 
tially formed, would come precisely at the head of the proposed boule- 
vard, forming, with the hospital, a composition of great dignity. 

Swinging around the new building of the Soldiers' Home to the 
north, the continuation of the parkway would pass south of the two 

S. Rep. 166 14 ; ,' ■ 99 



100 



PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA. 



cemeteries and would follow the valle}^ along the houndaiy of the 
Home to Harewood road. To secure good grades and preserve the 
beaut}^ of the valley" certain additional lands would have to be acquired 
and thrown into the grounds, compensating for some of the boundary 
strips that would elsewhere have to be taken from them. Following 
Harewood road the parkway would skirt the beautiful open valley to 
the west, and near the southeastern corner of the grounds would turn 
within the edge of the woods into the valley and follow its course, 




No. 17. — Section of Savannah Parkway. 

thus avoiding a grade crossing of the electric cars and surface traffic 
of Michigan avenue, which now crosses the valley in till and would 
pass over the parkway by a suitable bridge. 

The Soldiers' Home grounds are a highly developed tract of land, 
502 acres in extent, heavily treed in some sections, and in others hav- 

soidiers' Home ^^^§' ^" ©pen mcadow-like appearance. An extensive 
Grounds. road svstem is alreadv constructed, and there are a 

number of large buildings. These grounds are set apart as a home for 
old soldiers of the Regular Army, and are maintained out of the pro- 
ceeds of fines imposed for breaches of discipline; but by court es}^ are 
usually thrown open to the public, forming in effect a most beautiful 
park. If thev were to be considered simply from the point of view of 
the casual visiting public, the grounds might be improved by some 
rearrangement of the road s^^stem, lessening the grades and doing 
awa}' with some of the abrupt turns on certain main lines which 
would then attract the greater part of the travel and thus relieve the 
other roads, many of which, for vise by large numbers, ai'e crooked, 
narrow and steep, although in themselves very jjicturesque and 
attractive. It is to be hoped that the future will see the continuation 



^ K:VVy\.Y, 

S E D 1=5>\ R K 

SOLDI E R S 



PARK SYSTEM 

■JS , NEW VORK 
3TED,JR.j BROOKLINE 



STREET- 







STPSEETT 



\ 



P1_.^1M SHOVv'IiMG, PROPOSED 

3 yK"V.^K M W .^ H 1-:^.^ R K Vv"y\ Y , 

FORMING THAT F^ORTIOM OR THE PROPOSED P^rk SYSTEM 

BETWEEN MUNICIR/<KL HOSPITAL AND SOLDIERS HOr-lE 

100 p SCO 1000 




SOLDIERS HOME 



THE SECTION EAST OF ROCK CREEK. 101 

of the policy Avhich has been wisel}' followed in the past of concen- 
trating the buildings at a limited number of points, and of keeping 
the greater part of the landscape perfectly simple and not disturbed 
by attempts at ornamentation. 

At the head of North Capitol street there is opportunity^ for a very 
grand formal entrance, which should take the form of a triumphal arch 
commemorative of a great soldier and statesman. 

On account of its situation between the Soldiers' Home grounds and 
Howard Park, in the growing section of the District, and on account 
Howard rniversity ^^ ^^^ Considerable expanse of water, forming an 
Reservoir. element in the Soldiers' Home landscape, the new 

reservoir can be made an important supplement to the park sj^stem. 
To that end a small strip of land should be acquired on its western 
side next Howard University, to provide for a drive and to afford 
at least a fringe of landscape under public control. The present 
acreage is 67.7, or with the adjacent iilter grounds 101.7. The 
proposed addition would be about 3 acres in extent. The purchase 
of another block of land about 320 feet square would be desirable, 
in order to connect Howard Park with the reservoir, and thus with 
the Soldiers' Home grounds. Howard Park has a beautiful grove 
of large oak trees, and if thus connected and if provided with a 
wider entrance from the neighboring Seventh street, would not only 
be more accessible and useful in itself, but would form part of a 
most desirable southwestern approach to the Soldiers' Home. 

The connection from Soldiers' Home to the proposed park on the 

Patterson property should follow at first the valley extending south 

from Michigan avenue toward Eckington. This val- 

Eckington Parkway. i t n t • i 

le}', now crossed diagonally by Lincoln avenue, is 
charmingly wooded for a distance of half a mile, and it should be 
the aim in fixing the boundaries to preserve this charm. The 
boundar}^ streets should be so adjusted to the surface as not to mar 
what lies within them, and the width of taking should be such that 
the construction of the central drive, if carefully planned, would 
leave considerable breadth of the natural park-like effect undis- 
turbed. While the width would vaiy, the tj^pical arrangement would 
be somewhat as indicated in the cross section on page 92, although 
less rugged in character. Beyond the wooded portion of the valle\^, 
the width would be somewhat reduced and a formal arrangement 
would be adopted, although following curved lines in order to avoid 



102 



PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



Patterson Park. 



abrupt angles and in order to secure good grades without great 
expense for construction. The Metropolitan Branch Railroad would 
be crossed by an overhead bridge and the parkwa}" would join the 
wooded portion of the Patterson propertj^ at a high level, so that 
the continuation of the drive through the park woods would not be 
complicated b}" the new location of the Baltimore and Ohio tracks, 
which should pass under this part of the park by a short tunnel. 
About a mile and a quarter northeast of the Capitol, just beyond 
Florida avenue and west of the large tract of finely 
wooded land occupied b}^ the Columbia Institution for 
Deaf and Dumb, is a beautiful piece of land, formerly che Patterson 

estate. It is on the edge of the 
hilly section overlooking the 
city proper, and its northern 
part, high and undulating, is 
covered with a grove of large 
old trees, from the edge of 
which there is an inspiring 
outlook over the open south- 
erly slope leading down to a 
broad gentle pasture enliv^ened 
by a very few outstanding 
trees. There is probably no 
better example in the whole 
District of the "park-like" 
type of landscape, using the 
word in its stricter sense, and 
its acquisition is desirable not 

Vista, Villa Albani, Rome. ^^^^^^ f^^, ^^^ ^^^^ ^^ j^^ ^^,^^^ 

natural beaut}^, but because its stretch of nearly level greensward, 
lying between Eckington and Northeast Washington, would be of 
the utmost value to the future population of the surrounding region. 
The grove about the old mansion and to the north of it would be 
hardl}" less valuable, for it is of such a character and upon such 
comparativelj^ gentle slopes as to adapt it to use by large numbers 
of people better than anj^ other large piece of woodland available 
for park purposes. 

The wooded portion is crossed by the line fixed by act of Congress 
for the Baltimore and Ohio tracks, which would here be 55 feet below 




THE SECTION EAST OF ROCK CREEK. 103 

grade, and it is veiy desirable, if the region is to become a park, that 
the hill should be tunneled rather than gashed b}^ a wide, open cut. 
Parallel to the track and about 200 feet from it is the line of New 
York avenue, as shown on the highway-extension plans. If the tracks 
are placed in a tunnel the avenue might be diverted slightly to the 
north around the hill and made the limit of the park, or it might be 
carried sti'aight through as a traffic street below grade in a compara- 
tively narrow cut crossed by the park drives and paths upon masonry 
arches, as is done in the case of the transverse streets in Central Park, 
New York. 

In the development of the Patterson property as a public park the 
first aims should be to keep the open meadow and hillside landscape 
simple and undisturbed, to preserve the charming frame of woods upon 
the east and north, to create, by planting, a similar margin on the west 
and south, and to preserve the sylvan character of the rest of the estate, 
but would be well to set apart, in the grove and in the margin of the 
open, certain limited areas for popular amusements other than mere 
enjojniient of scenery. It might be well to convert the interesting old 
mansion into a sort of casino for the sale of refreshments and for 
other public uses. 

Between the Patterson property and Mount Hamilton there are no 
natural features of much attractiveness and a formal type of parkwa}^ 
Mount Hamutoii would scem to mcct the requirements of the case. 
Parkway. Two routcs are open — to the north or to the south of 

Mount Olivet Cemetery. Either would be convenient and agreeable, 
but on the whole that to the north seems the better, chiefly because 
of easier grades in passing the base of Mount Hamilton and con- 
tinuing on to Anacostia Park. Here again considerations of land 
cost as ascertained b}- negotiations with the owners should largel}^ 
influence the final selection of route. 

Mount Hamilton, one of the highest hills between the Anacostia and 
Rock Creek, rises above the general level as a steep, isolated summit, 
Mount Hamilton I'saching an elevation of 225 feet, at a point just east 
'*'"■''• of the Bladensburg road and about three-quarters of 

a mile west of the Anacostia flats, over which it commands very 
extensive projects. In other directions, also, the views are remark- 
ably good, especiall}^ across the cit}' in the direction of the Capitol, to 
which it is nearer than any other hill of such considerable height. It 
is correspondingly conspicuous in the views from a large part of the 



104 PAEK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

District. It is heavil}^ timbered with a growth quite tjqoical of 
Southern mountain scenery, which gives it, together with its very 
steep slopes, a distinct character, to be found so perfectly nowhere 
else in the District. 

In addition to these reasons for preserving it as a park, the cost of 
grading streets and cutting the land down to a level practicable for 
ordinary uses would be very excessive. In other words, the place is 
admirably adapted for park purposes and verj^ ill adapted for any- 
thing else. The area which it is proposed to take is indicated on map 
No. D-288, and amounts to about 119 acres. The boundaries shown 
are adapted for the construction of streets on good grades. 

In the development of Mount Hamilton the leading motive should be 
to preserve and accentuate its peculiarh" mountain -like character of 
vegetation and surface, and to that end paths and other artificial con- 
structions should he reduced to the minimum compatible with its con- 
venient use by the public. It will probabh^ be desirable, however, to 
build a single drive on a good grade, winding its wa}^ through the 
woods to a concourse at the summit, where a single white marble 
pavilion might be erected to serve as a shelter and to accentuate the 
peak as seen from a distance. 

A short link of informal parkway should be provided to connect 
Mount Hamilton Park with the area to be reclaimed along the banks 
of the Anacostia River. 



THE ANACOSTIA WATER PARK. 



THE present outrageous condition of the Anacostia River has 
been so f ull}'' discussed before Congress in various reports dur- 
ing several years that there is no occasion for us to describe it 
in detail again/ Suffice it to say that within the District of Columbia 
the Anacostia is a fresh-water estuary with a normal tide of about 3 
feet, which alternately covers and exposes to the sun a great area of 
reeking mud flats upon which the aquatic plants constantly" entangle 
additional deposits of mud, slime, and putrifying organic matter. 
Those parts of the bottom not exposed at low water are for the most 
part shallow and support a vegetable growth that prevents a rapid and 
cleansing movement of the tide, while above ordinary high- water level 
there are broad marshes and meadows which are flooded at varying 
intervals, whenever the water of the Potomac is raised b}^ flood or con- 
trary winds above its normal level, and which retain after each flooding 
innumerable stagnant pools. No conditions could be more favorable 
to the development of malaria, and because of these conditions the 
disease has made havoc with the inmates and officers of the Govern- 
ment Hospital for the Insane, of the jail, and of the workhouse, and 
with those occupied at the navy-yard and Washington Barracks, all of 
whom (several thousand in number) are compelled by the action of 
the Government to subject themselves constantly to its influence — not 
to mention, in addition, those unfortunate private citizens who, for 
one reason of another, must live within the great area affected by these 
deplorable conditions. 

The pressing sanitary problem is simply to do awa}^ with the low, 
amphibious areas which are alternately flooded and exposed, and to 
convert them either into deep water or into dry land; but incidentally 
the improvements maybe made to provide increased commercial water 
frontage, while a part of the reclaimed lands may be used as a park. 

^See report of Colonel Allen with references to previous reports. 

105 



10(^ PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

Plans and estimates for the improvement of the river, with a view 
to commercial occupancy below Bennings Bridge, were prepared by 
Colonel Allen and submitted to Congress in 1898. For the portion 
above Bennings Bridge the time and the appropriation did not suffice 
for complete surveys and estimates, and the possibilitj^ that this sec- 
tion would ever be used for commercial frontage, even if improved, 
was thought to be so slight as not to be worth considering. The plans 
contemplated the dredging of an adequate channel and the tilling of 
the remaining flats and low land to a level above the highest freshets, 
14 feet above low water. An alternative provided for filling to a level 
merely above ordinar}^ high tide and for excluding the higher floods 
by dikes. In the upper section, above Bennings Bridge, a similar 
treatment was proposed, but with the channel widened into tidal 
basins, the shores of which were to be parked. As to this section the 
report did not go into detail. 

Coming to the study of the problem from a diflferent point of view, 
with the benefit of Colonel Allen's investigation, we have devised a 
slight modification of his project which seems to have several advantages. 

For the commercial section of the river we should adopt Colonel 
Allen's project bodilj^, except for certain possible changes in the 
lines of the channel to meet altered conditions, and to throw more of 
the made land on the valuable Washington side. But for the treat- 
ment above the commercial channel, in the park section, it is necessary 
to give a separate explanation. Pending a public discussion of the 
subject, we have assumed the line of Massachusetts avenue as the 
upper limit of commercial development. Coming at almost the same 
point as the Pennsylvania Railroad bridge, its draw would be the 
fourth in the way of river traffic, and the development of the less 
restricted river below those two bridges would increase the water 
front of the city by 143 per cent; or, if the Anacosta side be included, 
by 301 per cent — enough to provide for any probable development 
without further extension. 

The principle of treatment, however, which we propose for the park 
section remains the same whether the section begins at Massachusetts 
avenue or at Bennings Bridge. That principle is to exclude the Poto- 
mac floods b}^ a dam at the head of the commercial channel, thus avoid- 
ing the necessity for raising the large area of meadows now subject to 
occasional overflow. 

The proposed dam would have a permanent sill either at half tide 



THE ANACOSTIA WATER PARK. 



107 



level (el. — 0.61 city datum), or at high tide level (el. +0.S9 cit}^ 
datum). In the tirst case the ordinary tides would flow back and forth 
across the dam, rising at high tide to el. +0.89, hut never falling 
behind the dam, below el.— 0.61. In the second case the water behind 
the dam would have a constant level and would ])e renewed by the flow 
of the Anacostia River alone. Upon this permanent sill in either case 
would be erected movable gates or sections, hy means of Avhich in time 
of flood in the Potomac the dam would bo raised in eflfect to elevation 




Oxford— Racing on the Iris. 

11.89, completel}^ excluding the Potomac floods from the Anacostia 
basin. 

The watershed of the Anacostia itself is so comparativel}^ small 
that its outflow could accumulate behind the dam for several days 
during such floods without raising the level of the ponded water 
enough to give trouble. 

Between the dam and the District line practically all the flats now 
covered at ordinary high water would be dredged out to a depth of 12 
feet, providing a great basin or series of basins of deep, clean water, the 
dredged material going to supply the additional filling needed on the 
commercial section. Such fi'agments of flats as were not thus exca- 



108 PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

vated would be raised by filling above ordinal*}^ high- water mark, but the 
greater part of the meadows, with their numerous and beautiful clumps 
of trees, would not be raised, thus avoiding about 500,000 cubic j^ards of 
filling and preserving a great deal of charming natural scener}'. If the 
summer flow of the Anacostia proves npon closer investigation sufii- 
cient to replenish and renew the water of these basins, the tide would 
be excluded completeh^; ^ but, if not, the half-tide dam would be adopted 
and the water would be refreshed by the regular ebb and flow. With 
a constant water level, or with a tidal rise and fall of only a foot and a 
half, the shores could be treated with a natural looking gravel beach 
or low stone shore in place of a sea wall showing more than 12 feet 
high above the ordinary water level, such as would be called for if the 
floods are not excluded by a dam. Such a wall, dignified and effective 
in a formal urban embankment, would not only be tedious and drear}^ 
in appearance about a park lake having 7 miles of shore, but would 
add enormously to the cost of construction. 

The result of the proposed treatment would be a great lake, deep 
enough to be clean and free from vegetation, refreshed b^^ a sufficient 
flow of water, kept free from mosquitoes and malaria by its depth, by 
the unobstructed sweep of the wind, and by its clean shores, and sur- 
rounded by natural meadows and groves that need onl}^ to be culti- 
vated and protected from inundation to become a charming park. The 
lake would provide opportunities for boating, such as are eagerly 
seized upon where they exist near other great cities, and the meadows, 
besides their landscape beauty, would provide the best of playing fields. 
To protect and inclose this landscape and to give points from which it 
coukl be adequately commanded, we should propose to include the faces 
and crests of some of the bordering hills on the Washington side, one 
of which is alread}^ owned b}^ the District Reform School, while a large 
part of the marsh land is claimed by the Government. The total area 
of the proposed park is 1,113 acres, of which 535 would be occupied 
b}" water. The proposed boundaries, which are indicated on the map 
to face page — , are such as to permit the construction of border streets, 
and, in fact, coincide for the most part with the lines of streets already 
laid down upon the highwaj^ extension plan. In addition to the border 
streets, there would oe a main drive within the park on each side of the 
water, generallv near the boundary, in order to leave the central area 
unobstructed, and in order to keep upon higher ground overlooking 

^ See report of Colonel Allen with references to previous reports. 



THE ANACOSTIA WATER PARK. 



109 



the meadows and the hike, but sometimes rmming close along- the shore. 
Secondary drives and cross connections would be required in places, 
and, of course, a series of paths. Boathouses, arranged so as to accom- 
modate skaters in winter, should be important features at the points 
where the park is reached by main lines of transportation, and bathing- 
facilities should be freely provided.^ 

At the northwesterly corner of the proposed Anacostia park is a 
group of commanding hills occupied by the Bo3^s"' Reform School. A 
portion of this land should be transferred to the control of the park 




Henley — A suggestion of Anacostia Park. 

authorities, both on account of the importance of the hill in the land- 
scape of the park and because of the yiew which can be obtained from 
it down the Anacostia Valley. At the southwesterly corner a similar 
transfer should be made of a portion of the city farm, which is occu- 
pied by the jail and temporarily l)y the almshouse. The buildings of 
the Reform School and of the jail are few in proportion to the area of 
their grounds, and if treated with due regard to their appearance from 
the park will supplement its landscape materially. 

^ See Appendix A on public bathing places. 



THE FORT DRIVE. 



WHILE for the reasons already discussed no systematic series 
of minor reservations has been selected for the outlying dis- 
tricts, it is necessary to mention the chain of forts which 
occupied the higher summits in the northern part of the central section, 
extending from Fort Stevens, near Rock Creek Park, to Fort Thayer, 
near the Reform School. The views from these points are impressive 
in proportion to their commanding militarj^ positions, and they are 
well worth acquirement as future local parks, in addition to an}" claim 
their historical and military interest may afford. The boundaries, 
shown upon map No. D-288, are fixed mainl}^ with respect to the 
character of the views from each fort and the possibility and impor- 
tance of keeping them permanently open. The areas of the proposed 
parks ^ are therefore somewhat adjustable, depending upon the atti- 
tude of the landowners. 

To connect the series advantage is taken of the street laid out for 

the purpose in the highway plans, but it should be increased to a more 

liberal width than now provided, which is only 90 

The Eastern Forts. _ . 

feet between houses, the same as H street in the city. 
With the forts indicated on the map — Stevens, Totten, Slemmer, 
Bunker Hill, and Thayer — and with such other small parks and view 
points as ma}" be selected later, a northern park circuit of great 
interest would thus be formed, having views off into the country in 
contrast with the principal inner circuit of larger parks, presenting 
views chiefly south toward the city. 

In the section east of the Anacostia a similar chain of hilltop forts 
marks the points of most commanding view. With the Anacostia and 
the Potomac below and the city of Washington spread out beyond 
and the hills of Virginia in the distance, these are the most beautiful 

^ Given in Appendix I, p. 167. 
S. Rep. 1C6 15 111 



112 PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OV COLUMBIA. 

of the broad views to be had in the District. Forts Mahan, Chaplin, 
Sedg-wick, Du Pont, Davis, Baker, Stanton, Greble, and Battery Rick- 
etts can be linked together readily b}^ means of the permanent system 
of highways with a few modifications and some widening into a drive 
comparable in beauty with that along the Potomac Palisades, but 
utterl}^ different in character. 

In connection with this hill-crest circuit, starting from the north- 
eastern end of Anacostia Park and returning to the shore of the Poto- 
mac at the southern corner of the District, it is important to secure 
four other areas of considerable extent in the eastern section. 



THE ANACOSTIA SECTION. 



DIRECTLY on the axis of Massachusetts avenue, extending from 
the lowland near the river to the ridge occupied b}?^ the fort 
drive, is an area of successive plateaus and ridges falling into 
a curiousl}?^ balanced relation about the line of the avenue. It seems 
hardly likel}^ that another large park would be needed so near the pro- 
posed Anacostia park, but the land is so admirablj^ adapted as a site for 
a large public institution that it would be a wasteful use of land to cover 
it with private houses for which the adjacent ridges are just as good. 
The area which seems particularly adapted to such a public purpose, as 
shown upon map No. D-288, is defined b}^ symmetrical boundary 
streets upon good grades, with comparatively little cut or fill, and 
amounts to about 270 acres — about the same size as the Reform School, 
the Government Hospital for the Insane, or the new Poor Farm, 
somewhat larger than the Columbia Institution for Deaf and Dumb, 
and smaller than the Soldiers' Home. It is to be hoped that this land 
will be purchased by the Government while it remains undeveloped 
and the opportunity exists. 

About 2 miles southwest of the proposed Hillside Reservation the 
valley of Stickfoot Creek runs down from the Fort Drive on the 
stiekfoot Creek ™aiw ridge to the river at a point opposite the navy- 
Parkway. yard and near Anacostia Bridge. The upper third of 

the valley is included in the grounds of the Government Hospital 
for the Insane, in the middle third runs Sheridan avenue, following 
the right bank of the creek and bordered by open land, and the lower 
third runs through open lowland and flats. A parkway should be 
provided for in this vallej^ to give convenient and agreeable access to 
the Fort Drive from the Anacostia Bridge. The lower third, where 
there are no topographic features to determine its character, should 
be a formal affair, with a central drive, parkings, and two side streets. 
The central drive would pass under Nichols avenue and in the middle 

113 



114 



PAEK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



third of the valley would follow the brook, with a narrow irreg-ular 
border of valley scenery. Sheridan avenue would form one side street 
and the opposite boundary, as drawn, would provide for another, 
rising- gradually along the hillside so as to reach the edge of the plateau 
in the upper third of the valle}^ on the Government hospital land. 
The main drive should connect with the Fort Drive. The land taken 
from the hospital is for the most part entirely unavailable for build- 
ing or for cultivation, while, with its good tree growth, it would 
provide a most agreeable approach to the drive along the ridge, divid- 
ing it into a northern and southern circuit of convenient length. 

South of the Government Hospital for the Insane the ridge continues 

nearly level to Fort Preble and Bald Eagle Point, with a steep slope 

all along to the lowland along the Potomac. The 

(iiesboro Parkway. , - 1 • • i i i i -j i . i 

Views from this ridge are so remarkabl}" line, and the 
steep slope is so ill adapted to ordinary city subdivision, that a wide 
parkway, running nearly parallel with the present Giesboro road, is 

much to be desired. 
It should provide at 
the edge of the nar- 
row plateau a street 
for house frontage, 
together with a 
park drive and 
paths commanding 
the view, and it 
should include the 
whole slope below, 
in order to control 
the outlook by pre- 
venting the erec- 
tion of obstructive 
buildings and the too continuous growth of tall trees. The bounda- 
ries shown on map No. D-288 not only provide for these require- 
ments, but include a very beautiful oak grove upon the plateau, 
on land otherwise as well adapted for building as for park purposes. 
At the southern end a small portion of the land recently acquired for 
the almshouse should be transferred to the parkway, to provide for a 
connection between the ridge and the shore of the Potomac. 




No. 183.— Terrace, Venice, illustrative of water-front treatment in 
connection with a formal design. 



THE ANACOSTIA SECTIOIST. 



115 



Provision should be made for the public control of the entire water 

front from the Government property at the southern end of the Dis- 

. , trict to Anacostia Park at Massachusetts avenue. 

Anacostia embank- 

™ent- Along- the Potomac, from Shepherds Landing to Gies- 

boro Point, the shores are nearl}- level agricultural land 10 or 20 feet 
above the river. A margin about 200 feet in width should here be 
acquired, with a view to the construction of a road and such other 
means of making the water front available as the development of the 
back country ma}^ ultimately require. 

Along the Anacostia, from Giesboro Point to Massachusetts 
avenue, there is a wide margin of flats which must be reclaimed as 
discussed in connection with the 
Anacostia Park. The greater 
part of the reclaimed lands will 
best serve the interests of the 
community if utilized for com- 
mercial purposes under private 
ownership, but the portion in 
front of the Government hos- 
pital should be added to the 
grounds of that institution. 
Whatever disposition may be 
made of the reclaimed land, 
however, the embankment it- 
self and its immediate margin 
should remain under public 
control. The final character of 
its improvement can well await 
the future development of the 
conditions which are to surround it, but it is not unlikely that the 
arrangement proposed for Georgetown Harbor (page Si), with 
a commercial quay and a separate high level drive and esplanade, 
will prove desirable in the future here. 




No. 19S. — The Quays at Venice. 



WASHINGTON EMBANKMENT AND POTOMAC PARK. 



ON the Washing-ton side of the Anacostia Kiver it is equally 
important that the permanent public control of the water 
front should be made a part of the channel improvement and 
that a consistent comprehensive project should be adopted for its treat- 
ment in connection with the improvement of the western water front 
along- Washington channel, recently brought under public control by 
the decision of the courts. A decision upon the method of improve- 
ment involves, in addition to questions of appearance and expense, the 
careful consideration of so many interests, private pi'operty rights, 
the needs of the navj^-yard and of the school of engineers and war 
college^ at the Washington Barracks, and, above all, the convenience 
of commerce, that the Commission is not prepared to make a detinite 
recommendation; but it seems highh^ important that the water-front 
improvement should be utilized to the utmost in providing a southern 
parkway connection between the Anacostia section of the District and 
Potomac Park, against which the Washington embankment w^ould 
terminate at the northwestern end of Washington channel on the line 
of Long Bridge. 

Potomac Park is a low-lying tract of land and water about 739 acres 

in extent, between Washington Channel and the Potomac River. It 

is crossed at about its center by Lono- Bridp-e, carrv- 

Potomac Park. ^ & & ? . 

ing the tracks of the Alexandria and Washington 
Railway, and also a carriage drive. It was formed on a shoal in the 
river by the deposit of material dredged in the ordinary operations of 
preserving and improving the channel. Its surface is a few feet 
above ordinarv water level, but it is submerged at times of flood, 

'^The Secretary of War has caused plans to be prepared for an army war college 
and an engineer post and engineer school of application, all to be located at the 
Washington Barracks, at the junction of the Potomac and Anacostia rivers and bor- 
dering on the Washington channel. The contemplated expenditure for the war 
college is $400,000, and for the engineer post and school of application $860,000. 
(See House Doc. No. 90, Fifty-seventh Congress, first session.) 

117 



118 PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

and the engineer's plans contemplate additional tilling. The greater 
part of the park is surrounded b}- a low stone wall, the primary 
object of which is to retain the mud dredged from the channel. 
This gives the shore a rather formal appearance, emphasized by 
rows of poplar and willow trees, planted to bind the earth together. 
Dredging operations are still carried on, and material is being 
deposited on the park area. 

The form and situation of the land suggest at once the landscape of 
natural river bottoms — a suggestion that can hardly be improved upon 
as a guide in the development of the park. Of the many types of 
river-bottom scenery, the one which seems best adapted to the condi- 
tions is that of great, open meadows, fringed by trees along the water 
side and diversified by occasional outstanding masses and single trees 
serving to focus the meadow area into a series of connecting compo- 
sitions without completely obscuring its extent. On account of the 
view of the water and the sweep of breezes through the Potomac 
Valle}", the pleasantest portion of the park is bound to be the strip 
along the river side. Here should be carried the principal drive and 
paths, running almost continuall}^ within a long and narrow grove of 
tall-stemmed river trees, which will afl'ord shade without seriously 
obstructing the summer breeze, which is said to blow here with more 
frequency than at any point within the cit}'. The central part of the 
area should be kept as simple as possible, in meadows unbroken by 
paths and roads, except for a few cross connections devised to fit in 
with such occasional trees as the landscape calls for, while on the side 
toward Washington Channel would be another nearh^ continuous mass 
of foliage. If such a treatment is adopted it will be unnecessar}^ to 
fill the whole area of the park above the level of the extreme floods, 
for if the sides were raised to that level they would serve as dikes, and 
their slight elevation above the central meadow would enhance the 
efl'ect of the landscape, especially if the inner slopes are made very 
gradual. A similar treatment in respect to the dikes is to be seen at 
Budapest, in the park of Margaretten-Insel, in the Danube, where the 
views from the paths that run along the dike are very beautiful, both 
inward toward the meadow and outward toward the river. 

Not the least advantage of such an extremely simple and absolutely 
informal landscape for Potomac Park is due to its position next to 
the strongly formal and elaborate scheme of the central group, to 
which it would serve as a very happy foil and contrast. 



WASHINGTON EMBANKMENT AND POTOMAC PARK. 119 

Except for a portion of the shore growth, where young willows and 
poplars are already growing, the trees for Potomac Park will all 
have to be planted, and because of the richness of the soil and other 
favorable conditions the idea suggests itself that in selecting these 
trees a collection should be got together that would form a living 
museum of the greatest interest; in short, a National Arboretum, In 
considering this idea we have felt that as the land has been set apart 
as a park, the first importance must be given to its perfection as a 
beautiful place of recreation; and it is obvious that the miscellaneous 
introduction of a great variety of trees of all colors, forms, and sizes 
would utterly destroy the restful simplicity of the landscape which we 
have described. Nevertheless, we believe that it would be possible, 
by a wise choice and arrangement of species, to group in the planted 
area along the easterly side of the park a great series of trees and 
shrubs and herbs which should represent in a synoptic manner all the 
important types of vegetable life capable of growing at Washington, 
and to do so, by the exercise of sufficient care and skill, without in any 
degree injuring the character of the dominant park landscape. Such 
a collection would bear the same relation to a theoretically complete 
botanical series that the various collections exhibited to the public in 
the National Museum bear to the working collections stored away in 
drawers and boxes for the use of specialists, and it would contain the 
most beautiful and interesting species of each important group. 

It would add a feature of great interest and value to the park with- 
out interfering with its essential qualities of landscape, and we can 
recommend this treatment as the best provision for the systematic 
botanical collections which this Government is sure sooner or later to 
maintain, if we may judge from the experience of other countries.^ 

Omitting the northern portion, which is required for the completion 
of the Mall and its connections, the whole area of Potomac Park 
should at once be carefully laid out in accordance with the above 
general scheme, the proportions and forms of its different open and 
planted areas carefully studied, and the lines and grades of roads and 
paths worked out in detail in conformity with these masses and with 
the necessary approaches to the new Long Bridge and railroad bridge, 
in order that the filling now going on ma}^ be economically applied 
toward a definite result, 

^ Appendix E on a Botanical Collection. 

S. Rep. 166 16 



i 



THE MOUNT VERNON ROAD. 



THE great desirablilitv of connecting Mount Vernon with the 
capital b}^ an agreeable and dignified approach was recognized 
b}^ Congress in 1889, when the Chief of Engineers was called 
upon for a survey' and estimate for such a national road; and the 
resulting report of Colonel Hains (S. Ex. Doc. 106, Fifty-first Con- 
gress, first session) sets forth very clearly the various routes studied 
at that time. 

Although such a road would lie wholly beyond the limits of the Dis- 
trict, its importance as supplementing the park system of Washington 
requires that we should mention it and again urge upon Congress its 
great value. If it were desirable merely on account of the historic 
associations with Mount Vernon we might hesitate to refer to it in 
this connection, but as a matter of fact it would present such a series 
of beautiful views of the broad portion of the Potomac Valley as would 
give it a priceless recreative value for the future population of the 
District in addition to its sentimental value as linking the nation's 
capital with the home of its founder. 

After a personal examination of the territory traversed by the routes 
discussed in Colonel Hains's report, we have no hesitation in recom- 
mending his line No. 6, with a few minor modifications, as affording 
opportunity for the most refreshing and delightful drive to be had in 
any direction from Washington, and not to be equaled at any great 
capital in the world. No one who has not climbed laboriously by steep 
hills, bad roads, and crooked, untraveled lanes to the crests along 
which this line sweeps can fully realize the grandeur of the views, but 
they ma}^ be suggested by those to be had from Arlington, from the 
ridge road beyond Fort Albany, and from Mount Vernon itself. 

As stated in Colonel Hains's report, the lines were laid down subject 
to revision, and we have noted several points, especiall}" near Shuters 
Hill, near Spring Bank Run, and at the two ends, where upon more 

121 



122 PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. . 

detailed study marked improved improvements could be secured. At 
the northern end the route would, of course, connect with the Memo- 
rial Bridge. The latter, crossing from the Washington side of the 
Potomac on a straight line for the Arlington mansion, would lead to a 
circle or plaza near the base of the hill, whence to the right would 
lead a drive curving up the wooded valley to the mansion on the 
height and to the left would reach off the Mount Vernon road. 

The terminus of such a great national road at Mount Vernon ought 
to have the most careful and sympathetic study, for with all its tre- 
mendous historical associations Mount Vernon is not designed on the 
scale of a great public monument, but on the more delicate, domestic 
scale of a gentleman's country place, a character which has been most 
skillfully preserved by the Mount Vernon Association, and which does 
far more to bring to the visitor a feeling of the personal presence of 
Washington than the bald historical fact of his residence there. It 
will be no eas}^ problem to design a terminus dignified and adequate 
for a broad national road of pilgrimage some 16 miles in length and 
to relate this terminus frankly to the Mount Vernon mansion as the 
main object of the pilgrimage without intruding a discordant public 
note into that place which should speak not of the statesman, but of 
the private gentleman of Virginia who thei-e made his home. 

At the time Colonel Hains's estimates were made the necessary land 
was reckoned at $100 an acre, and formed a trifling part of the cost. 
Although in eleven 3^ears the land has risen somewhat in value it is 
still moderate in price, and we should therefore recommend that in 
those places where the line follows a hill crest commanding an excep- 
tionally beautiful view sufficient land be taken upon the lower slopes, 
in addition to the regular width of the road, to preserve the view per- 
manently from obstruction. The building of the electric railway 
since the submission of Colonel Hains's report has somewhat altered 
the situation, making it extremel}^ probable that there will be further 
increases in the value of lands along the route and possible interference 
with it by new improvements in case all action is delayed for several 
years. 

It therefore seems to us that while the construction of a great and 
costly highwa}^- might well be postponed till the population of Wash- 
ington comes to feel its need more keenly, it would be the part of 
wisdom to secure the land for such a route without further delav. 



CONCLUSION. 



IN submitting- their report the Commission desires to make 
acknowledgment of their indebtedness to those persons who 
have assisted in the work of preparing- the plans and illustra- 
tions, and who have responded with enthusiasm to the unusual demands 
on their time in order to finish the task within the appointed time. 

To Mr. William T. Partridge, under whose able direction the 
drawings were prepared, and to Messrs. Baer, Butler, Chapman, 
Crow, de Gersdorff, Elliott, Githens, Harmon, Johnson, Kaiser, 
Merz, Morris, Mundy, Shephard, Trueblood, Walker, and Weekes, 
who were associated with him in this work, the Commission desires 
to express its sense of obligation, not onl}^ for the skillful manner 
in which the work was executed, but for the interest and untiring 
devotion which brought it to successful completion within a very 
limited period. 

The Commission also desires to make grateful acknowledgment to 
the artists, Messrs. Bacher, Bacon, Blum, Curtis, Hoppin, Graham, 
Guerin. McCarter, Rodeman, Ross, Sears Gallagher, and Percival 
Gallager, whose graphic rendering of the designs contributes so 
largelv to an intelligent understanding of the work of the Commission. 

In the compilation of maps, plans, and other data in regard to 

parks and the existing conditions throughout the District, in the 

stud}^ of the ground for the selection of proposed park areas, in 

preliminary studies for the treatment of all the areas considered, 

and in the preparation of its plans for publication, the Commission 

has had the invaluable help of Mr. James G. Langdon, assisted in 

part by Mr. R. A. Outhet and Mr. E. A. Douglas. 

Very respectfully, 

Daniel H. Burnham. 

Charles F. McKim. 

Augustus Saint Gaudens. 

Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. 
To Hon. James McMillan, 

Chairman Senate Ooinmittee 

on the District of Columbia. 

123 



APPENDICES. 



APPENDIX A.— PUBLIC BATHING PLACES- 



ONE of the most enjoyable and health-giving* recreations for the 
people in a place with a hot summer climate is bathing, espe- 
cially open-air swimming; but the natural facilities for it in 
Washington are not good. Sea bathing is unattainal^le within a rea- 
sonable distance, while the shallowness of the small streams and the 
muddiness and disagreeable banks of the Potomac and Anacostia do 
not make the fresh-water bathing attractive. In spite of these difficul- 
ties there is a good deal of unregulated bathing in retired places out 
of sight of the police, and the entirely inadequate temporary provision 
for bathing in the basin of Potomac Park is very largely used. 

When a city has an}" place on sea or lake or river that is naturalh" 
well fitted for bathing, the popular appreciation of it quickh^ builds up 
some means of using it conveniently. Private enterprise erects bath 
houses and supplies bathing suits and towels in order to profit by the 
obvious public demand. But when, as at Washington, there are no 
natural facilities for bathing, the public demand is seldom sufficiently 
apparent to lead private enterprise into the large investment necessarj^ 
to create good bathing arrangements. At Richmond, Va., recentl}", a 
private compan}" built as a business venture a large open-air swimming 
basin, lined with concrete, supplied with filtered water purchased from 
the cit}^, and surrounded by dressing rooms and shelters; but usuallj" 
such undertakings are too uncertain in their financial outcome to 
attract private capital, and therefore when a city lacks natural advan- 
tages for bathing, it usually becomes necessary for the municipality to 
deal with the problem. 

The public bathing establishments which abound in European cities 
and in man}^ of our own may be divided roughly into three classes. 
The first, and perhaps the most important, includes those intended for 
the poorer people, who suffer most from the summer heat, who most 

125 




NO. 176.— REVERE BEACH, NEAR BOSTON. WHAT THE PEOPLE THINK OF ITS VALUE 



126 PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

need the healthful refreshment of the bathing, who can not go out of 
the city to get it, and who can afford to pay little or nothing for it. 
The establishments of this class are free or open upon an almost nom- 
inal charge — 1 cent, 2 cents, or at the most sometimes 5 cents. The 
commonest type is the floating bath, a great, wooden, scow-like affair, 
built around four sides of an oblong space, which has a perforated 
flooring a few feet below the surface of the water. The scow serves 
as a platform round the bath and supports the dressing rooms or lock- 
ers, which with a high board fence inclose the whole affair. The water 
space is sometimes roofed over and sometimes open. These floating 
baths are anchored next the shore in river or harbor at convenient 
points during the summer months. 

Another form differs onl}' in being built on piles or on permanent 
piers running out from the shore, and is sometimes open on the outer 
side when the opposite shore is distant and no near passing vessels 
would be annoyed by the sight of the bathing; for in establishments 
of this class, in which the sexes are alwaj^s separated, the bathers are 
commonly nude, to their own greater comfort and enjoyment as well 
as for economy and simplicity of operation and maintenance. The 
bathers bring their own towels and bathing suits, if they wish them, 
and are on\j provided with small dressing closets or mere lockers in 
which to place their clothes. The running expenses are very low and 
the value to the people is such as to justify the establishment of such 
bathing places at several points along the water front where they can 
be conveniently reached from different quarters of the city. The con- 
struction of bathing places of this type should be ver}'^ simple and 
inexpensive, but the arrangements should be carefulh^ thought out so 
as to make them absolutel}' convenient, and the regulations should be 
kept as simple as possible and contrived with a studious regard for the 
habits, tastes, and prejudices of the bathers in order to encourage the 
use of the baths at the season when no one is inclined to exert himself 
to overcome difficulties. 

The second class of establishments, which have usuall}^ grown up at 
beaches where the bathing is naturall}" good, afford more convenient 
dressing arrangements, supph" towels and bathing suits, and provide 
for open-air bathing of what might be called a social sort under pleas- 
ant surroundings, in view of the public, for large numbers of both 
sexes. The bathers are charged an amount which generally varies 
between 10 and 25 cents, according to the accommodations furnished, 




M , - 






m 



APPENDIX A. PUBLIC BATHING PLACES. 



127 



and although the location is often somewhat remote from the cen- 
ter of population the patronage is always large and profitable upon 
Sundays and holidays in hot weather. It is only under ver}^ favorable 
circumstances, howeyer, that private enterprise can afford to provide 
thoroughly adequate, convenient, and sanitar}' arrangements, because 
the attendance is extremely irregular and will not pay interest on a 
costly plant at moderate rates of charge. 

For these reasons, and because of the difficult}^ of regulating the 
sanitary and moral conditions of such private places, municipalities 
Public bath, Eeyere ^^^'^ i^^ many instances provided their own public bath 
Beach, Jiassachusetts. houscs of this ckss. The bcst example is probably 
that at Revere Beach near Boston, under the control of the Metro- 
politan Park Commission of that city, shown in the accompanying 




Public Biitli, Town of Brookline, Mass. 

illustrations. Since the date of the illustrations the accommodations 
have been considerably enlarged to meet public demand, and now 
include 1,700 separate dressing rooms within inclosed ^'■ards for men 
and for women, flanking a central l)rick administration building. 
This contains offices where keys, suits, and towels are given out and 
valuables stored, toilet arrangements, an emergency room, and the 
like. It is supplemented by a building containing a police station and 
a laundry, where the suits and towels are washed, sterilized, and 
repaired. To economize space additional provision is now being 



128 



PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



made for a general locker room, for boys who do not care for sepa- 
rate dressing rooms, where the charge will be 10 cents, instead of 25 
as for adults having private rooms. 

During the summer of 1900 the bath house was used b}^ 153,299 
bathers, with a maximum number in one da}^ of 7,529. The running- 
expenses were $22,381.17, and the receipts were $34,371:. 30, leaving a 
surplus of $11,993.13 applicable to repairs and extensions. The total 
cost of land takings for control of the beach has been $1,117,778.29, 
and the total cost of buildings, roads, and other constructions and mis- 
cellaneous expenses during five years has been $564,055.62. It is uni- 
versally conceded that these large sums have been well invested and 




Public Bath, Town of Brookline, Mass. 

are bringing adequate returns to the people in relief and refreshment 
during the heated term; but if this is true in Boston, where the sum- 
mer heat is greatly mitigated by the cool ocean breezes and where 
there are numerous seashore resorts within easy reach, it is manifest 
that the benefit to Washington of similar facilities would be in propor- 
tion to its population immeasurably greater. 

A third class of public bathing places, as yet not very greatly 
developed in this country, is that of inclosed swimming-pools and other 
Vjaths for winter use. These have been provided for 
some 3^ears on a limited scale in the larger cities hj 
private enterprise and are to be found in a number of athletic clubs 



Public bath, Brook 
line. Mass. 



APPENDIX A. PUBLIC BATHING PLACES. 129 

and gymnasia, but it is only recentl}^ that municipalities on this side 
of the water, recognizing the value of such baths to the health of the 
community, have begun to erect them as public institutions. New 
York led the waj^, and a few other places have already followed 
the example. The accompanying illustrations show the public bath 
erected in 1896 b}^ the town of Brookline, Mass., at a cost of 150,000. 
Besides other baths and dressing rooms it contains a swimming basin, 
80 feet by 26 feet, supplied with a steady flow of fresh water and 
kept at a uniform temperature. It is used on different days of the 
week b}^ men and b}^ women at a charge of 5 to 15 cents for residents 
and 25 cents for nonresidents, and one day is reserved for the use 
of a swimming club of limited membership. The running expenses 
during 1900 were 17,994.10; the receipts, $6,151.50, and the number 
of bathers, 51,153. 

As mentioned in the body of the report, we believe that open-air 
bathing places of the second class, although on a much smaller scale 
than at Revere Beach, should be provided in the improvement of the 
Anacostia, and we believe that there will be ample justification before 
long for an important establishment of this sort near the present bath- 
ing place in Potomac Park, in connection with the development of the 
central group of parks. Ultimately there might be good opportunity 
to develop at the same point a winter bathing place of the third class. 

S. Rep. 166 17 



APPENDIX B.— RELATION OF THE ANACOSTIA DAM TO 

TIDAL SCOUR. 



A SIDE from the question as to whether the summer current of 

l—X the Anacostia, unassisted by a tidal ebb and flow, is sufficient 
to maintain the basins above the proposed dam without dan- 
ger of stag-nation, there is another objection which might be raised 
against any interference with the normal tidal movement by a dam, 
namely, that it would reduce the scouring current, which would other- 
wise tend to prevent silting in the commercial channel lower down. 

The general theor}^ of tidal scour has been made a subject of special 
studj^ hj the United States engineer officers in charge of harbor and 
river improvements, and its application to the problem of the Anacos- 
tia can be most safel}'^ worked out by them; but without assuming any 
intimate technical knowledge of the matter we will state the special 
facts bearing on this case: 

The water of the Potomac always carries a large amount of silt, 
which begins to settle on the bottom whenever the current ceases to 
move rapidly. The slower the current the more silt is deposited. 

When at the head of any channel there is a large basin, over the 
whole area of which the water must rise and fall at every tide, a corre- 
spondingly large volume of water must pass in and out through the 
channel at every tide, and the amount of water passing in or out 
through a limited opening during the few hours that the tide runs in 
one direction obviously determines the speed of the current. If the 
basin be doubled, about twice as much water must pass through the 
opening in a given time and it must move about twice as fast to do it. 
If the proposed basins on the Anacostia above Massachusetts avenue 
could be made of sufficient area and the tide were allowed to flow freely 
in and out, it is clear that the current could be made swift enough in the 
lower channel, first up and then down, to keep the silt always stirred 
up so that none of it would settle on the bottom and no dredging 
would be required to maintain the channel. That is the theoretically 
perfect condition of tidal scour, as we understand it. 

But, while the conditions would be perfect in the channel, in the 

131 



132 PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

broad basin above there would be practically no current and the depo- 
sition of silt would take place there very rapidly. 

If, on the other hand, by the construction of a dam at Massachusetts 
avenue, the channel were brought practicall}^ to a dead end at that 
point its upper portion would be in substantially the same condition as 
the whole basin under the first arrano-ement, that is, without current, 
and the deposition of silt would take place there very rapidly. The 
lower end of the channel would have some current, though much less 
than before. On the average, then, the channel would have a com- 
paratively sluggish current, and silt would be deposited throughout its 
length only a little less rapidl}^ than in the basin under the first 
arrangement. As the area of the channel, however, is ver}^ small as 
compared with that of the basin, the total amount of silt deposited 
within it must be but a small fraction of that deposited upon the exten- 
sive bottom of the basin under the first plan. 

When, as often happens, a tidal basin can be cheaply provided and 
no important interests are affected if it becomes gradually shoaled, it 
is obviously wise to avoid the necessit}^ for constant channel dredg- 
ing by its use; but where, as on the Anacostia, the basin must be 
first dredged out and then, for sanitary reasons, maintained by dredg- 
ing at a constant depth, it would appear to be more economical in 
the long run to keep the silt from flowing into the basin at all and 
to confine the future maintenance dredging to the much smaller area 
of the channel, where it will be assisted by at least some tidal current. 

So far as the silt of the Anacostia River itself is concerned, although 
for its size a very turbid stream, the material which it carries in sus- 
pension is not large in total amount and is comparativeh^ coarse, and 
it would therefore be deposited in the first still water at the head of 
the basin, whence it could be removed from time to time as necessary. 

Thus, if the muddy tide of the Potomac should be excluded com- 
pletely from the basin, not only would the total maintenance dredging 
for the system be less and the park lakes be free from the objection- 
able and inconvenient tidal fluctuation, but the water would be clear 
and clean instead of constantl}^ mudd3^ The possibility of attaining 
this result appears to depend, as stated in the body of the report, upon 
whether the summer flow of the Anacostia is sufiicient to suppl}" the 
evaporation from the large lake surface and furnish a surplus for the 
renewal of the water. On this point the Commission has been unable 
to obtain sufficientlj^ reliable data upon which to base a conclusion. 



APPENDIX C— A LETTER RELATIVE TO THE PROPOSED 
TREATMENT OF ANACOSTIA PARK. 



35 Fairview Avenue, South Orange, N. J., 

November £9, 1901. 

DEAR SIR: Referring to the questions relative to the proposed 
establishment of a water park at Washington, D, C, which 
were under discussion at the interview with the Park Com- 
mission at the Capitol in October, I beg leave to state that Colonel 
Allen requested me (inasmuch as the surveys and the preparation of 
the plans for the Anacostia River improvement had been placed by 
him in my immediate charge) to take up the consideration of the ques- 
tions in reference to which you desired suggestions and to write you 
in regard to the same. 

The desirability of the establishment of a water park in the upper 
partof the Anacostia basin seems to me to be beyond question. When 
the project for the proposed Anacostia improvement was under con- 
sideration in 1898 we were confronted with the problem of reclaiming 
or utilizing in some way the wide area of flats and marshes lying 
between the Pennsylvania Railroad Bridge and the District line. The 
extreme upper limit of commercial development of the river desirable 
seemed, at that time, to be Benning Bridge, on a main line of travel, 
but even then I was very doubtful about the practicability or advisa- 
bility of using any part of the wide flats just below Benning Bridge 
and west of the river channel, when reclaimed, for residential purposes, 
for they consist of the lightest alluvium and are saturated with sewage. 
Between Benning Bridge and the District line conditions seemed to 
require some form of park development, and with this view I made 
studies for lakes with curved shore lines, which we termed tidal reser- 
voirs, working on the basis of balancing the cut and fill, the reservoirs 
to be so arranged that they might be utilized in any possible future 
park development and at the same time serve to impound tidal water 

133 



134 PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

to aid in the maintenance of the navigation channels of the river below. 
Owing largely to the lack of funds and available time, it was found 
impracticable to develop this part of the project at that time, and 
therefore it was left open and referred to only in a brief and general 
way on page 12 of the report. The plan of the Commission for the 
establishment of a water park on this part of the Anacostia will, there- 
fore, not only not conflict in any wa}^ with the proposed river im- 
provement, but, on the contrary, furnishes a most happy solution of 
the difficulty in the treatment of the wide area of flats here found. 

The channel improvement proposed for the Anacostia had two 
objects in view — (1) a channel sufficient to meet the needs of naval ves- 
sels from the mouth to Navy-Yard Bridge, and (2) a sufficient channel 
for commercial vessels loaded with lumber, building materials, coal, 
etc., destined for the northeastern section of the city. Washington is 
not a manufacturing city, however, and so much heavy freight is now 
carried by rail that the needs of this part of the city, in the matter of 
water transportation, would probably be sufficiently met if the 16-foot 
channel proposed above the Navy-Yard Bridge had its upper terminus 
at the line of Massachusetts avenue extended, which, as I recall, is the 
proposed lower limit of the water park. This arrangement would 
have the advantage that the proposed bridge on the line of Massa- 
chusetts avenue extended, could be made much simpler in character 
and less expensive. 

The question as to whether the tide should be allowed to ebb and 
flow in the lakes of the water park is one of considerable importance. 
All the authorities agree that the tidal prism of such a river should be 
preserved in order to maintain the integrity of the channels below. 
I made computations on this point and found that with the improve- 
ment proposed in the report of 1898 the tidal prism would be inade- 
quate to maintain, in the channels proposed below Navy-Yard Bridge, 
a velocity sufficient to prevent silt deposit, and if the tidal flow be 
excluded from the water park these adverse conditions would, of 
course, be increased. At the same time I am aware that from a land- 
scape point of view the rise and fall of the tide presents practical diffi- 
culties in the maintenance of a neat shore line. In the tidal reservoir 
of Potomac Park we built a masonry wall with a considerable batter, 
which served well, a slope wall having been found unsatisfactory. 
With Potomac River water, a sand or gravel beach would soon become 
covered with silt and be unsightly. To my mind, however, there is 



APPENDIX C. PROPOSED TREATMENT OF ANACOSTIA PARK. 135 

nothing comparable to a clean-cut line of contact between the water 
surface of the lake and the grass slopes of the shore, which can, of 
course, only be secured by impounding the water at a fixed level. 
This, however, would probably be impracticable, b}^ reason of the 
probable contamination of the fluvial waters of the Anacostia above 
the District limits by the discharge into the stream of its tributaries of 
raw or partially treated sewage, which conditions would undoubtedly 
render the impounded water unhealthful, if not offensive. It would, 
probablj^, be needful, therefore, to provide for the ebb and flow of the 
tide, at least between half tide and high tide, in order to secure a suffi- 
cient circulation of water. The channels below can, of course, be 
maintained by dredging, which would probably be needed to some extent 
even if no part of the tidal prism were impounded. It is suggested 
that a level of high tide (3 feet above low tide) would be most conven- 
ient for the maximum water line of the lakes. 

As the tides in the Potomac often rise to a height of 4 to 5 feet under 
the influence of easterly winds, pr&vision would need to be made for 
excluding these higher tides as well as freshets, for which purpose an 
earthen embankment or dam, with suitable sluiceways and gates, would 
suffice. Such an embankment might be built along the line of Massa- 
chusetts avenue, and serve also as a roadway in lieu of the proposed 
bridge, the sluicewa3^s passing under the roadwa3^ The top of the 
embankment would need to have a minimum grade of 14 feet above 
low tide to be secure against the backwater of freshets, but the park 
areas might, it is suggested, have a general level of 6 f ieet above low 
tide and be efficiently drained, inasmuch as the Potomac freshets do 
not reach their maximum height until some two or three days after the 
local rains have ceased. 

During my connection with the Potomac River improvement, dating 
from the inception of the work in 1882 and continuing to 1899, I 
made a special study of the various physical conditions appertaining 
to the river and the reclamation of its flats, and it may be that there 
are other points on which I can give you information or make some 
suggestion. If this should be the case, I shall be glad to be of service 
to you. 

Ver}^ trulj^, yours, John B, Duncklee, 

Civil Engineer. 

Mr. Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. 



APPENDIX D.— A COMPARISON OF ALTERNATIVE PLANS 
FOR THE TREATMENT OF ROCK CREEK VALLEY. 



FIRST. To build a large covered masonrj" culvert or sewer for the 
creek, and to fill around and over this structure so as to oblit- 
erate the valle}' and raise it to the level of the adjacent lands; 
constructing- a parkwa}' or boulevard upon a portion of the filled land 
and subdividing the remainder into streets and lots for sale.^ 

Second. To improve the present open channel of the creek, regrade 
its banks, and improve them for park purposes, and to construct roads 
and paths within the park thus formed, spanning the valley by fre- 
quent street bridges to provide close connection with Georgetown. " 

The arguments for and against each of these plans may be divided 
into considerations of expense and considerations of direct benefit to 
the community. 

As the question of cost is merely comparative we need not discuss 

those items which would be substantially the same in either case. The 

most important of these are the cost of land taken, ^ the 

Kelatlve expense. . i i i c i i 

cost oi interceptmg sewers, and the cost of roads and 
other surface features of the parkway. 

The great expense of the first plan lies in the covered waterway, 
which is estimated in Captain Rossell's report at $2,358,925, and the 

^ Discussed, except as to construction of parkway, in Sen. Mis. Doc. No. 21, Fifty- 
second Congress, second session. 

^Proposed by committee of Washington Board of Trade, December 15, 1899. See 
Park Improvement Papers No. 7, Appendix I. 

^ The valley area which would have to be taken for carrying out the improvement 
would be about the same in either case, but in the case of the covered channel a 
portion of it could afterwards be sold, as allowed for later. 

* Whether the channel is open or covered, intercepters must be built to take the 
sewage. Senate Mis. Doc. No. 21, 52:2, p. 10. These are now built in part. 

137 



138 PAEK SYSTEM OF THE DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA. 

filling and grading at $1,752,424, amounting, with proportionate con- 
tingencies of $411,134, to a total of $4,522,483/ 

The corresponding expenses under the open-valle}' plan have been 
approximately estimated at $100,000'^ for the improvement of the 
channel, $230,000 * for excavation and grading, and $200,000 for retain- 
ing walls, etc., amounting, with $53,000 contingencies, to a total of 
$583,000. 

To these preliminary expenses must be added, in the case of the sec- 
ond plan, the cost of building additional bridges across the valle}^ and 
renewing some of the existing bridges, which, according to their num- 
ber and character, might amount to from $1,000,000 to $1,500,000, to 
be expended from time to time as occasion may demand, while from 
the cost of the first plan is to be deducted the net salable value of the land 
not occupied by streets and parkways, amounting to about 1,160,000 
feet.* While any estimate of this salable value can be little more than 
a guess, we ma}^ accept as a basis the estimates given in Captain Ros- 
sell's report, taking as the minimum S6 cents and as the maximum 
$2.58 per foot.'^ 

This would give maximum gross returns of $2,992,800, and mini- 
mum gross returns of $997,600; or, after deducting the cost of neces- 

1 Senate Mis. Doc. No. 21, 52:2, p. 3. 

/^This figure of $100,000 provides for the removal of minor irregularities and the 
protection of the banks from wash. 
^ An approximate estimate by this Commission gives — 

450,000 cubic yards of earth to be moved within the valley itself, at 

40 cents $180, 000 

100,000 cubic yards of earth to be excavated and removed to Potomac 

Flats or elsewhere, at 50 cents 50, 000 



230, 000 



*This area is less than that given in Senate Mis. Doc. No. 21, because of the addi- 
tional land required for a wide boulevard. 

^ The estimated value of these lands under condemnation in 1892 averaged 86 cents 
per foot, and the estimated value under sale was given as twice that amount. Senate 
Mis. Doc. No. 21, p. 7. The minimum value under sale assumed in this report is 
equal to the previously estimated value under condemnation, and the maximum 
value assumed is three times that amount. The maximum value is from nine to 
twelve times the present average assessed valuation of improved upland property in 
neighboring parts of Georgetown, and between three and four times the valuation 
of similar improved upland property in Washington. 



APPENDIX D. ^TREATMENT OF ROOK CREEK VALLEY, 139 

saiy streets, $130,000,^ net gross returns not less than $870,000 nor 
more than $2,860,000. 

From the above figures it would appear that under favorable cir- 
cumstances the profit on land sales under the first plan might make its 
total cost some $400,000 less than that of the second plan, but that 
otherwise its cost might exceed that of the second plan by some 
$2,000,000. 

This is not, however, quite a sound comparison, because, on account 
of the magnitude of the work and the length of time required for the 
settlement of the enormous fill under the first plan, it would be not 
less than fifteen and probably twenty years from the beginning of the 
work before the land or the boulevard would become available for 
use,^ while the less costly second plan would be completed within five 
years. The interest charges, at 2 per cent, on the sums invested in 
land holdings and in construction under the second plan, would be 
nearly $400,000; but under the first plan during fifteen years they 
would amount to over $2,000,000, and, should they run for five years 
more, would amount to more than three and a quarter millions. 

It is evident, after all due allowance is made for the imperfect data 
upon which the comparison is based, that the first plan would under 
any circumstances be far more costly than the second plan with its 
open ^^alley. 

The parkway provided under either plan would be in itself agreeable 

and dignified. Under the first, or culvert plan, there would be a 

broad, central roadway, flanked b}^ four rows of trees 

Relative advantages. . ... . , /^ • i • i 

in turf parkings, with promenades. Outside of these 
parkings would be wide streets for house frontage and for trafiic, 
with the usual sidewalks and narrow parkings. The grades would be 
easy, the alignment agreeable, and the general effect, regardless of the 
quality of ';he abutting private property, would be similar to that of 
many of the notable boulevards of European capitals. But it is 
impossible so to disregard the appearance of the surrounding and 
inclosing buildings, for in boulevards of this formal urban type it is 
the buildings that fix the character, while the trees are merely a 
decorative adjunct. 

The portion of Georgetown and Washington through which the line 

^8,550 linear feet of 90-foot street, estimated at $13.75 per foot by District Com- 
missioners' office, $117,562.50, plus 10 per cent for contingencies, equal $129,318.75. 
^Senate Mis. Doc. No. 21, 52d Cong., 2d sess., p. 6. 



14U PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

passes is now given over partly to manufacturing and partly to a poor 
class of residences. It is ver>" far from agreeable in appearance, and 
it is hardl}" to be expected that it will become a first-class part of the 
city, because natural growth exerts no pressure in that direction. 
The tide of development can often be deflected hj park and street 
improvements, but it can very seldom be reversed. A parkway, there- 
fore, built according to the first plan would probably be lined by fac- 
tories, tenement houses, and the like, on a level with the drive and 
separated from it only bj^ the width of a street and four rows of tree 
trunks. A formal urban boulevard is very dignified, impressive, and 
interesting when it presents an agreeble aspect of city life, but when 
it presents a disagreeable aspect of cit}' life and remains, as it must, 
just as intimately a part of that life it ceases to be satisfactory. 

Under the second or open-valley plan the broad main drive accom- 
panied b}^ paths would run along a little above the creek, somewhat as 
does the new drive through Rock Creek Park. The present valley, 
which has been narrowed by the constant dumping of earth over its 
edge, would be widened by excavation at the restricted points to a 
semblance of its original form and clothed with turf and trees, while 
the necessar}^ provision for business traffic and for building frontage 
would be made by border roads on a level with the existing .streets. 
Along these border roads the same factories, tenements, and the like 
would doubtless be built as in the other case, but with the traffic 
roadways from 30 to 40 feet above the park drive such occupation 
would not intrude itself forcibly upon the attention, even if it were 
not entirely cut off from view. 

Besides secluding the parkway from direct and intimate association 
with an unattractive part of the city, the higher elevation of the regu- 
lar streets would permit them to cross the parkway above grade by 
bridges spanning the valley, so that the busy and growing traffic of 
pedestrians, wagons, carriages, and especiallv electric cars would not 
be brought into conflict with the pleasure travel. From every point 
of view this is to be desired. For the driver of a spirited horse, for 
the wheelman, even for one strolling afoot along the parkway, the 
necessit}^ for crossing a busy thoroughfare at every block, together 
with several electric-car lines, would serioush" mar the ease and com- 
fort of a pleasure excursion, while the obstruction to business traffic 
by grade crossings of a thronged parkway is not to be ignored. In 
the cit}' of Boston recently the objections to a long diagonal crossing 



APPENDIX D. TREATMENT OF ROCK CREEK VALLEY. 141 

of a traffic street with the principal parkway were felt to be so great 
that the city went to a large expense to provide a second street for 
traffic and electric cars, less direct, but passing under the park drive. 

An advantage of the street-level boulevard that would offset, at 
least in part, the obstruction which it might offer to cross traffic is, 
that it would permit more connecting streets across the valley than 
would be reasonable or feasible with the open valley plan, where each 
cross street would have to be carried on a bridge. But with half the 
streets carried across on bridges, as is perfectly feasible, the inter- 
ference of the valley with cross-town travel would be very slight. It 
is not a question of a uniform tide of travel from one side of the 
valley to the other; it is a question of travel between various regions 
somewhat remote on either side — travel which naturally tends into a 
few main arteries. If the valley were converted into a uniform plain 
the bulk of the travel would still continue to flow on a few principal 
lines, and if these be well provided for by bridges the absence of a 
few intermediate crossings will be of little consequence. 

Objection has been made to a valley parkway secluded in any degree 
from the streets b}" difference in level — particularly if the seclusion be 
increased by trees and bushes — on the ground that it would be very 
difficult to police in such a region as that bordering upon Lower Rock 
Creek. This raises a problem not to be lightly pushed aside; but 
if carried to its logical conclusion, it means that we are to have in the 
poorer quarters of the city no parks in the least degree retired from 
the streets or materially differing in treatment from their bald and 
sordid surroundings; for any park is more liable to abuse than is a 
street. The answer to the objection is that we can not have good 
things in this world without paying for them and that part of the 
price of parks is the policing of them. The attempt to secure the 
policing of parks as a mere incident of street policing is not a wise 
policy and must in any large city give way to a regular and system- 
atic policing of the parks. Moreover, in this particular case the 
difficulty may easily be exaggerated, for the fact that the sides of the 
valley cut off the sight of adjacent streets and houses from the main 
drive and paths does not necessarily mean that the valley itself is to 
be filled with dense thickets and somber groves. It may, indeed, be 
open and sunny, with but enough trees to give desirable shade. 

It would appear, then, that the open- valley project would afford the 
more satisfactory parkway and that its cost would certainly be much 

S. Rep. 166 18 



142 PAKK SYSTEM OF THE DISTKICT OF COLUMBIA. 

less than that of the culvert plan; but there are still other points to 
be taken into consideration, of which the most important is, perhaps, 
that the culvert plan would add a considerable area to the building 
land of the city, from which in time a large income would be derived 
in taxes. The same argument may be raised against the withdrawal 
of any park land from commercial occupancy, and it is merely a ques- 
tion whether in this case the value of the park-like borders to the 
drive and its partial seclusion from disagreeable surroundings would 
be worth the loss in taxes. In our opinion it would be, especially 
when it is considered that the potential purchasers of this land are 
not likel}^ to be lost to the District as taxpayers, but will simplj^ pur- 
chase other private land, increasing its value by improvements and 
paying the same taxes upon it. This raises the question, too, whether 
it is a wise policy and in accordance with our principles of govern- 
ment for the public authorities to go into real-estate business in com- 
petition with the citizens. There appears to be at present no lack of 
land for sale in Washington, but rather a lack of sufficient market, 
and for the Government to put additional land upon that market would 
seem a questionable blessing. If the Government is not to go heavily 
into real-estate speculation in competition with the landowners of the 
District, the co^t of the culvert project becomes so enormous as to be 
utterly out of the question. 

It is our conclusion, then, that the Rock Creek parkway should be 
treated as an open valley, crossed as often as may be necessary by 
handsome and substantial bridges, flanked by traffic roads connecting 
on a level with the adjacent city streets, and including at a lower level 
near the stream a drive or drives and such paths as may be needed. 



APPENDIX E.— BOTANICAL COLLECTION. 



r Vy HE advantages to botanical science, to horticulture, to forestry, 
I and to landscape architecture, of a great systematic collection 
of living plants under the direction of the Department of Agri- 
culture, are too great to need argument. The Department has already 
found itself compelled to make partial collections for study and experi- 
ment in special fields; but from lack of funds and because of the 
limited purposes in view in each case, these collections have been 
quite unrelated one to another, and have been unavailable for general 
purposes. The investigations of the Department and others who have 
occasion to stud}^ large groups of plants for any purpose, have no 
such collection of living and growing specimens at their disposal as 
have been got together by the Government authorities of England, 
France, Holland, Germany, and Russia. They have been compelled 
to rely mainly upon the dried specimens of herbaria, supplemented 
by a very few collections of living plants maintained by educational 
institutions. 

Although of immense value to the purel}^ scientific, systematic bot- 
anist, the dried herbarium specimens are of very limited use in studying 
the general character, appearance, and habits of the plants in nature; 
and it is in order to meet the practical requirements of the people at 
large, who want to use the plants intelligently in farming, gardening, 
forestry, and ornamental planting, that the living plants should be 
brought together so that they can be examined with economy of time 
and travel. The existing collections, of which the Arnold Arboretum 
at Boston, the Shaw Botanical Garden at St. Louis, and the New York 
Botanical Garden are the most important, are limited in their ability 
to supply this need, not only by reason of the space required for a com- 
plete collection and the cost of the work, but because of local climatic 

143 



144 PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

conditions, for in the climate of Boston, New York, and St. Louis thou- 
sands of plants of the utmost value and interest to large sections of the 
country can not be grown at all. 

A great and adequate national botanical collection will necessarily 
be a slow growth, and its organization and arrangement must be the 
outcome of long study and gradual development; but as suggestions to 
guide the steps that may first be taken toward its establisliment, the 
following conclusions of the Commission may be helpful. They are 
the result of some familiarity with the present arboreta and botanic 
gardens and of discussion with several botanists of eminence. 

It is obvious that all the plants native to the territory of the United 
States, to say nothing of desirable exotics, can not possibly be gathered 
together in a single place and grown there. Their climatic require- 
ments range from the arctic to the tropical; and even within the main 
continental territory of the United States there are difi'erences quite 
as radical, if not so striking, as between Alaska and our tropical islands. 
We should therefore look forward to the ultimate establishment of 
several working collections, probably in connection with certain of the 
invaluable experiment stations of the Department of Agriculture, in 
a few localities having typical climatic conditions fairly representing 
the whole range of United States territory. 

It would doubtless be possible to arrange for utilizing such valuable 
existing collections as those of the Arnold Arboretum, the Shaw 
Botanical Garden, and the New York Botanical Garden as the stations 
for their respective sections, supplementing their present activities 
and resources by governmental cooperation, bringing them into closer 
touch with one another, so organizing their aims and efforts as to 
avoid needless repetition and waste of energy, and providing for the 
prompt and full publication of the results of study at the various cen- 
ters. This branch of the undertaking would require but little expend- 
iture in proportion to the results, for it would in the main but pro- 
vide for the wise and orderly direction of the existing local activity of 
wealthy communities; but it is quite as important to the welfare of 
the country that there should be similar working collections for study 
and experiment in less developed sections, where local activity can not 
be expected for very many years to establish them, where far less is 
known as to the possibilities of plant life, and where such knowledge 
would be of immense advantage to the development of the country. 



APPENDIX E. BOTANICAL COLLECTION. 145 

Washington is the appropriate place for the station representing the 
climatic region of the Middle Atlantic States, and southward to the 
beginning of the subtropical section, and it should be provided with a 
large working collection of the flora, both native and introduced, of 
the region which it represents. Like the other working collections 
that at Washington should be placed and arranged with a view, first, 
to the successful growth of the plants under fairly normal conditions, 
second, to convenience in caring for them, and studying them as indi- 
viduals and botanical series, and only third, to the appearance of the 
collection as a whole. It is a business proposition, and not a matter 
primaril}^ of public recreation. 

As stated, however, in the body of the report, it is desirable, as a 
matter of popular instruction and enjoyment, and also for the sake of 
presenting in a clear and forcible manner the greater and more funda- 
mental aspects of systematic. botan}-, that there should be in addition 
to this large working museum, a synoptic collection representing all the 
more important botanical divisions by those species of each group having 
the greatest interest, whether economic, artistic, or purely scientific. 
Such a collection as this, which might well be placed in Potomac Park, 
should be selected and arranged not only with a view to the successful 
growth of each species of tree, bush, and herb, and to their conven- 
ient inspection, but with the most scrupulous regard to the pleasing 
character of the resulting landscape, a motive that could not be fol- 
lowed with great success in the unlimited miscellaneous collection for 
experimental purposes. 

In such a synoptic series, for example, the seventy or eighty species 
of oaks of the United states would be represented only by the kinds of 
greatest importance, which are certain to grow at Washington into 
great and beautiful specimens of an aspect that will fit in harmoniously^ 
with the proposed landscape of the park; the sixty or seventy species 
of hawthorn would be represented b}^ a few of the commonest and 
most beautiful varieties, upon whose appearance when grown it is 
possible to count with reasonable certainty, and which therefore can be 
so placed as to produce a pleasing result; and similarly with the 
smaller brushes and herbaceous plants. With the two latter especially 
the results of cultivation can be indicated in a beautiful and striking 
manner by choosing a few of the genera that have responded most 
successfully to garden cultivation and exhibiting them very perfectly, 



146 PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

presenting, for example, every one of the almost countless varieties 
of lilacs, of clematis, of peonies, or of poppies, and of a few of the 
more interesting economic plants, such as grapes. A few such col- 
lections, grouped each by itself in a retired garden or bay of the wood 
along the easterly side of the park, if well planned with that end in 
view, need in no way interfere with the quiet simplicity of its general 
landscape, and would afford an immense amount of enjoyment as well 
as instruction. 



APPENDIX F.— LIST OF THE DRAWINGS, DESIGNS, AND 
MODELS ILLUSTRATING THE REPORT OF THE COM- 
MISSION ON THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE PARK SYS- 
TEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

[Exhibited at the Corcoran Art Gallery, Washington, D. C, January 15 to February 26, 1902, and now 
on exhibition in the Library of Congress.] 



GALLEKY. 
CENTRAL GEOUP. 

1. Map of District of Columbia, showing existing public spaces. 

2. Map of District of Columbia, showing' existing and proposed 

public spaces. 

3. Map of District of Columbia, showing proposed additions to 

park system. 

4. Diagram of the parks of New York. 

5. Diagram of the parks of Boston. 

6. Diagram of existing and proposed parks of Washington. 

7. Diagram of the existing parks of Washington. 

8. Diagram of the parks of Paris. 

9. Diagram of the parks of London. 

10. Typical section of Potomac Quay.^ 

11. Typical section of Rock Creek Parkway. Treatment recom- 

mended. 

12. Typical section of Rock Creek Parkway. Alternative project 

with covered channel. 

13. Typical section of one of the Valley Parkways, such as Piney 

Branch, Soapstone Creek, and Georgetown Parkways, show- 
ing the preservation of existing natural scenery. 

^ The sections Nos. 11 to 17 were rendered by Sears Gallagher and Percival Gallager. 

147 



148 PAKK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

14. Typical section of Potomac Drive, short distance above Aqueduct 

Bridge. 

15. Two panoramic views showing present conditions. 

16. Typical section of Potomac Drive below Chain Bridge. 

17. Section of Savannah Parkway. 

18. Plan of Savannah Parkway. 

MALL DIVISION. 

19. General plan, describing area included between Capitol and 

Lincoln Monument, White House and Potomac Park. 

20. Birds-eye view of general plan from point taken 4,000 feet above 

Arlington. (Rendered by F. L. Hoppin.) 

21. Birds-eye view of general plan from point taken 4,000 feet over 

Insane Asylum, Anacostia Heights. 

CAPITOL DIVISION. 

22. Plan of Capitol grounds (L'Enfant) 1791. 
22a. Plan of Capitol grounds (Thornton) 1803. 

23. The Capitol. West elevation, showing proposed Terrace, resto- 

ration of the Bulfinch gates and boundary fence, fountains 
and approaches. Rendered by A. R. Ross. 

24. Section through same, east and west. Rendered by A. R. Ross. 

MONUMENT DIVISION. 

25. Plan showing proposed treatment of Monument Garden. Ren- 

dered by Geo. de Gersdorff. 

26. Section through Monument garden on White House axis, show- 

ing proposed treatment of approaches and terraces forming 
a setting for the Washington Monument. (Looking east.) 
Rendered by A. R. Ross. 

27. Section through Monument garden on Capitol axis, looking north 

toward White House. Rendered by A. R. Ross. 

28. Section through Mall at Fifteenth street, looking west, showing 

Monument approaches and terraces. Rendered by A. R. 
Ross. 

29. Section through canal, looking east, showing terraces and 

approaches to Monument garden. Rendered by A. R. Ross. 



APPENDIX F. DRAWINGS, DESIGNS, AND MODELS. 149 

LINCOLN MONUMENT DIVISION. 

30. Plan showing proposed treatment of Lincoln memorial site. 

31. Elevation of same on proposed site. 

32. Section of same. 

33. General section, Lincoln monmiient site, showing proposed 

memorial bridge connection at this point. 

HEMICYCLE. 

34. Model of Mall, including areas between Capitol and Twenty- 

seventh street, White House and Potomac Park, showing 
present conditions. Scale, 1 foot equals 1,000 feet. George 
Carroll Curtis, geographical sculptor. 

35. Model of Mall, showing treatment proposed by the Commission. 

Scale, 1 foot equals 1,000 feet. George Carroll Curtis, geo- 
graphical sculptor. 

CAPITOL DIVISION. 

36. View of Capitol as seen from Mall (Third street). Rendered by 

Robt. Blum. 

37. View showing proposed treatment of square at head of Mall. 

Rendered by C. Graham. 

38. Gate house and posts, old Capitol Grounds. (Buliinch.) 

39. View showing proposed treatment of basin, terrace, and Capitol 

approaches, head of Mall. Rendered by Heniy McCarter. 

MONUMENT DIVISION. 

40. View of Monument and garden terraces from White House. 

Rendered by Jules Guerin. 

41. View of Monument and garden terraces, seen from canal, 

Lincoln division. Rendered by Jules Guerin. 

42. Views of projected buildings, restaurants, pavilions, etc. 

43. One of the six pavilions in Monument garden. Rendered by 

Henr}^ McCarter. 

44. View in Monument garden, main axis, showing proposed treat- 

ment of approaches and terraces, forming a setting for the 
Washington Monument. (Looking east. ) Rendered by Jules 
Guerin. 



150 PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

45. View from terrace, base of Monument, looking toward Arling- 

ton. Rendered by Jules Guerin. 

46. View from terrace, base of Monument, looking toward White 

House. Rendered by Jules Guerin. 

47. View of terrace and approach to Monument, seen from the 

garden. Rendered by H. McCarter. 

48. View of Monument garden, looking toward White House. Ren- 

dered by O. H. Bacher. 

LINCOLN DIVISION. 

49. View showing proposed development of site for Lincoln memo- 

rial, seen from canal. Rendered by Robt. Blum. 

50. Proposed development of Lincoln memorial site, seen from Riv- 

erside Drive. (Rendered by Carlton T. Chapman.) 

51. View of the same, seen from Old Observatory site. Rendered 

by Jules Guerin. 

52. View of same, seen from Washington Monument. (Rendered by 

O. H. Bacher.) 



53 



56 



WASHINGTON COMMON DIVISION. 



View of memorial structure and public playgrounds looking 
south. (Rendered by Jules Guerin.) 

54. View of Washington common and public playgrounds, showing 

proposed baths, theater, gymnasium, and athletic buildings. 
(Rendered by Jules Guerin.) 

55. View of public square and above group of buildings, showing 

proposed memorial structure. Rendered by Jules Guerin. 



MALL DIVISION. 



View in Mall at Sixth street. Rendered by J. Guerin. 

57. Mall seen from Fourteenth street, looking toward Capitol. (Ren- 

dered by Jules Guerin.) 

58. General view of Monument Garden and Mall, looking toward 

Capitol. (Rendered by C. Graham.) 

59. View of Monument seen from Mall at Fourteenth street. (Ren- 

dered by Jules Guerin.) 



APPENDIX F. DRAWINGS, DESIGNS, AND MODELS. 151 

59«. View from the West — Monument. 
59b. View from balloon. 

60. Projected plan of the City of Washington, 1790, designed by 

Peter Charles L'Enfant, under the direction of General 
Washington, 

61. Plan of the City of Washington, 1791, designed b}^ Peter Charles 

L'Enfant, under the direction of General Washington. 
61a. Model of Monument Garden. Scale, 1 inch equals 32 feet. 



PHOTOGRAPHIC ENLARGEMENTS. 

62. Fountain of Marcia, Rome. 

63. Fountain in Front of Farnese Palace, Rome. 
61. Fountain, Place Chateau d'eau, Paris. 

65. Parade Ground, Boston Common. 

6Q. Column in Garden of the Luxembourg, Paris. 

67. Broad Avenue, Old Hadley, Mass. 

68. Avenue, Cirencester, England. 

69. Avenue, Windsor. 

70. Broad Avenue, Old Hadley, Mass. 

71. "Charles Sumner" Elm, Front of Capitol, Washington. 

72. View from Terraces, St. Germain, Paris. 

73. Terrace, Garden of the Tuilleries, Rue de Rivoli, Paris. 

74. Fountain, Hampton Court, London. 

75. Piazza del Popolo, Pincian Hill, Rome, 

76. Ringstrasse, Vienna. 

77. Fountain and Vista, Chantill}^, France. 

78. Fountains, Versailles. 

79. Fountains, Versailles. 

80. Fountain, Place Saint Sulpice, Paris. 

81. Fountain of San Paolo, Rome. 

82. Fountain de TObservatoire, Paris. 

83. Fountain Versailles. 

84. Fountain, Barberini Palace, Rome. 

85. Fountain of the Medici, Garden of the Luxembourg, Paris. 

86. Fountain, Quirinal, Rome. 

87. Terrace, Versailles. 



152 PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

88. Garden Pavilion, Laxenburg, Austria. 

89. Fountain and Terrace, Fontainebleau. 

90. The Long Walk, Windsor, England. 

91. Avenue, Cirencester, England. 

92. Avenue, Cirencester, England. 

93. General View, Place de la Concorde, Paris. 
91. Avenue of the Champs Elysees, Paris. 

95. Fountains, Place de la Concorde, Paris. 

96. Station at Frankfort, Germany. 

97. Avenue of the Champs Elysees, Paris. 

98. Fountain in Garden at d'Aranja, Spain. 

99. View, Garden of Villa Medici, Rome, showing Terrace. 

100. Basin and Parterres, Fontainebleau. 

101. Fountains, Versailles. 

102. ^Fountain, Villa Albani, Rome. 

103. Fountain and Canal, Versailles. 
101. The Orangerie, Versailles. 

105. Palace and Gardens of the Luxembourg, Paris. 

106. Temple, Borghese Gardens, Rome. 

107. Chateau d'eau, Caserta, Italy. 

108. Bernini Fountain, Piazza of St. Peter's, Rome. 

109. Brandenburg Gate, Berlin. 

110. Canal, Hampton Court Palace, London. 

111. Memorial Walk, Thiergarten, Berlin. 

112. L'arc de I'Etoile, Paris. 

113. Fountain, Versailles. 

111. Terrace, Trianon Palace, Versailles. 

115. Terrace and Walk, Garden of the Tuilleries. 

116. Quays p^ Lucerne, Switzerland. 

117. Quays at Grenoble, France. 

118. Bridge and Quay, Paris. 

119. Bridges and Quays, Budapest. 

120. Quay at Vannes, France. 

121. Bridges and Quay, Angers, France. 

122. Elm, Lafayette Square, Washington. 

123. Elms, Capitol Grounds, Washington. 
121. Elms, East Front of Capitol, Washington. 

* From photograph taken by Mr. Frederick Law Ohnsted, jr. 



APPENDIX F. — DRAWINGS, DESIGNS, AND MODELS. 153 

125. Elms, East Front of Capitol, Washing-ton. 

126. Elm, Capitol Grounds, Washington. 

127. Elms, Side Avenue of Mall, Central Park, New York. 

128. Elms, Side Avenue of Mall, Central Park, New York. 

129. Elms, Mall, Central Park, New York. 

130. Elms, Boston Common. 

131. Mall, Boston Common. 

132. Elms, Boston Common. 

133. Elms, Boston Common. 

134. Elms, Grounds of Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. 

135. Elms, Grounds of Harvard University. 

136. Elms, Avenue, Old Hadley, Mass. 

137. Elms, Avenue, Old Hadley, Mass. 

138. Elms, Avenue, Old Hadle3% Mass. 

139. "Charles Sumner" Elm, Capitol Grounds, Washington. 

140. "Charles Sumner" Elm, Capitol Grounds, Washington. 

141. The "Tapis Vert," Versailles. 

142. General View, Cirencester, England. 

143. Fountain and Vistas, Garden of the Tuileries, Paris. 

144. Exedra, Garden of the Tuileries, Paris. 

145. Terrace, Fontainebleau. 

146. Garden of the Luxembourg, Paris. 

147. *Garden Terraces, Chateau Vaux le Vicomte. 

148. ^Gardens, Vaux le Vicomte. 

149. ^Fountain, Garden Vaux le Vicomte. 

150. *Vatican Garden, Rome. 

151. *Borghese Gardens, Rome. 

152. *Hippodrome, Borghese Gardens, Rome. 

153. Pavilion, Borghese Gardens, Rome. 

154. -^Garden, Villa d'Este, Tivoli. 

155. *Cascade, Garden, Villa d'Este. 

156. *Cascade, Garden, Villa d'Este. 

157. *Stair and Fountain, Garden, Villa d'Este. 

158. *Villa Albani, Rome. 

159. *Villa Albani, Rome. 

160. *Villa Albani, Rome. 

161. *Villa Albani, Rome. 

*From photographs taken by yir. Frederick Law Ohnsted, jr. 



154 PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

162. *Villa Medici, Rome. 

163. *ViIla Medici, Rome. 

161. *Statue, Garden, Schoenbrunn, Vienna. 

165. *Pratei Restaurant, Vienna. 

166. *Prater Restaurant, Vienna. 

167. *Prater Restaurant, Vienna. 

168. The Long Walk, Windsor, England. 

169. Avenue of Stone Pines, Rome. 

170. Monument Park, Washington, Present Condition, from the 

South. 

171. Fountain of Trevi, Rome. 

172. Panorama from the Cupola of St. Peter, Rome. 

173. Piazzi of St. Peter, Rome. 
171. Aqueduct, Rome. 

175. The Spanish Steps, Plaza, Rome. 

176. Avenue du Bois de Bologne, Paris. 

177. Avenue du Bois de Bologne, showing Arc de Triomphe, Paris. 

178. Fountain St. Michel, Paris. 

179. Garden Pavilion. Borghese Gardens, Rome. 

*From photographs taken by Mr. Frederick Law Ohnsted, jr. 



Si 



o5 

CO 



Z 

o 

z 

X 

< 




APPENDIX G.-LIST OF LANDS IN THE DISTRICT OF 
COLUMBIA DEVOTED TO PUBLIC USE. 

[Shown on map No. P-287, following page 171.] 



rTAC!^ A ^OTT4RES CIRCLES TRIANGLES, AND OTHER MINOR RESERVATIONS, INCLUD- 
ING GROUND^^^^^ WHEN ALWAYS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. 

Table I. — Reservations over one acre in extent. 

FAn asterisk (*) indicates control bv the District Commi.ssioners. A dagger (t) indicates control by 
^ the Joint Committee on the Library. All others are nnder control of the Superintendent ot Public 
Buildings and Grounds.] 



Name. 



Dupont Circle .. . 
Farragut Square 
Folger Square . . . 



Official 
number. 



60 



16 



Franklin Square 
Garfield Park.... 



* Haymarket Square 

Howard Park 

Iowa Circle 



Judiciary Square . 
Lafayette Square. 



t Library of Congress 

grounds. 
Lincoln Square 



20 
153 



10 



14 



Marion Square 

McPherson Square . 



.4 c res. 
2.0 



1.6 



1.9 



4.6 
23.9 



11.3 



19.8 
6.9 



g cS^ 
!? <u ^ 



Acrex. 



9.8 
6.5 



1.6 

1.6 



Between Eighteenth and Twentieth streets west, 
and at intersection of Massachusetts, Connecti- 
cut, and New Hampshire avenues. 

Between I and K streets north, and terminus and 
intersection of Connecticut avenue and Seven- 
teenth street west. 

Between Second and Third streets east, at inter- 
section of North Carolina avenue and D street 
south. 

Between Thirteenth and Fourteenth streets west, 
I and K streets north. 

Between South Capitol street and Third street 
east, at intersection of New Jersey and Virginia 
avenues. 

On B street north, at junction of Ohio and Loui- 
siana avenues. 

Between Four-and-a-half and Sixth streets west, 
and College and Pomeroy streets north. 

Between Twelfth and Fourteenth streets west, at 
intersection of Vermont and Rhode Island 
avenues. , , j. 

Between Fourth and Fifth streets west, and Indi- 
ana and Louisiana avenues and G street north. 

Between Pennsvlvania avenue and H street north, 
and Fifteen-and-a-half and Sixteen-and-a-half 
streets w6st. 

Between East Capitol and B streets south, First 
and Second streets east. 

Between Eleventh and Thirteenth streets east, at 
Intersection of Kentucky, Tennessee, North 
Carolina, and Massachusetts avenues. 

Between Fourth and Sixth streets east, at intersec- 
tion of South Carolina avenue and E street south. 

Between I and K streets north, at southeastern 
terminus and intersection of Vermont avenue 
and Fifteenth street west. 

155 



156 PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

Table I. — -Reservations over one acre In e.ctent — Goutinued. 



Name. 


Official 
number. 


Area. 


Approximate 
area occupied 
by buildings. 


Location. 


Mt. Vernon Square 

Rawlins Square 

Stanton Square 

Washington Circle 


8 

13 

15 
26 

21 
55 

56 
113 
126 

54 


Acres. 
2.6 

1.6 

3 

1.8 

3 

2.8 

1.3 

2.2 

2.2 

2.9 

1.1 

1.7 


A 


cres. 
.4 


Between Seventh and Ninth streets northwest, at 
intersection of Massachusetts and New York 
avenues. 

Between Eighteenth and Nineteenth streets west, 
at intersection of New York avenue and E street 
north. 

Between Fourth and Sixth streets east, at inter- 
section of Mas.sachusetts and Maryland avenues. 

At intersection of Pennsvlvania and New Hamp- 




shire avenues, and K and Twenty-third streets 
northwest. 
Between Fifth and Seventh streets east, and K and 






L streets south. 
Between Twentieth and Twenty-first streets west, 


Reservations without 
name. 





and B street north and Potomac River. 
Segment of circle at junction of Pennsylvania 

avenue with Eastern Branch bridge, and on 

south side of avenue. 
Segment of circle at junction of Pennsylvania 

avenue with Eastern Branch bridge, on north 

side of avenue. 
Rectangle between Seventh and Ninth streets 

west, at intersection of Maryland and Virginia 

avenues. 
Rectangle between Ninth and Eleventh streets 

east, at intersection of Virginia and Georgia 

avenues south. 
Between Thirteenth and Fifteenth streets east, at 










intersection of Pennsylvania and Georgia ave- 
nues .south. 
Between Louisiana and Pennsvlvania avenues and 








the Washington Market and Seventh and Ninth 
streets northwest. 



Total number of minor reservations over 1 acre in extent 26 

Total area of minor reservations over 1 acre in extent acres.. 121.70 

Total area free from buildings do 115.90 

Average size do 4.68 



Table II. — Reserralions under one acre in extent. 

[An asterisk (*) indicates control by the District Commissioners. All others are under the control 
of the Superintendent of Public Buildings and Grounds.] 



Name. 



Triangle-. 

Do ... 

Do ... 
Trapezoid 

Do ... 

Do .. 

Do .. 
Triangle. 



Official 
number. 



Sq. feet. 
3,502 



2, 275 
6,240 
1,365 
2, 232 

17, 688 
14,338 
18,511 



Between Twenty-eighth and Twenty-ninth streets west, 

at intersection of Pennsylvania avenue and M street 

north 
Between Twenty-fifth and Twenty-sixth streets west, at 

intersection of Pennsylvania avenue and L street 

north. 
Between Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth streets west, 

at intersection of Pennsylvania avenue and L street 

north. 
Between Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth streets west, 

at intersection of Pennsylvania avenue and K street 

north. 
Between Twenty-second and Twenty-third streets west, 

at intersection of Pennsylvania avenue and K street 

north. 
Between Twentieth and Twenty-first streets west, at 

intersection of Pennsylvania avenue and I street 

north. 
Between Twentieth and Twenty-first streets west, at 

intersection of Pennsylvania "avenue and I street 

north. 
Between Eighteenth and Nineteenth streets west, at 

intersection of Pennsylvania avenue and H street 

north. 



APPENDIX G. LANDS DEVOTED TO PUBLIC USE. 

Table II. — Reservations under one acre in e.rfeni— Continued. 



157 



Triangle.. 
Trapezoid 



Do ... 

Do 

Triangle.. 
Trapezoid 



Triangle - 
Do... 



Trapezoid 
Triangle.. 
Trapezoid 

Triangle.. 

Do 

Do 



Do. 

Do. 
Do. 



Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Trapezoid , 
Triangle.. 

Do 



Circle ... 
Triangle. 



Trapezoid 

Do 

Do 

Scott Circle 

Trapezoid 

Do 

Thomas circle . 
Trapezoid 

Do 

Do 

Do.. , 



Do 

Do 

Triangle.. 

Trapezoid 



Official 
number. 



Sq. feet. 
14, 749 



16, 270 

21,012 
7,678 
5, 529 

15, 138 

5,180 

13, 360 

12, 100 
3, 685 
3,933 

11,070 
13, 855 
14, 960 

13, 030 



46 


1,450 


47 


1,100 


48 


11,440 


49 


16, 019 


50 


4,618 


51 


7,456 


52 


10, 962 


53 


6,800 


57 


2, 435 


57a 

58 


22, 698 
3,177 


59 


8,363 


61 


2,200 


62 


13, 964 


63 


7,854 


64 


13, 725 


65 


3,190 


66 


28, 352 


67 


3,560 


68 


16, 819 


69 


17, 686 


70 


6,794 


71 


5, 812 


72 


18,000 


73 


625 


74 


10, 887 



Between Eighteenth and Nineteenth streets west, at 
intersection of Pennsylvania avenue and H street 
north. 

Between Thirteen-and-a-half and Fourteenth streets 
west, at intersection of Pennsylvania avenue and E 
street north. 

Between Thirteenth and Fourteenth streets west, and 
Pennsylvania avenue and E street north. 

Between Ninth and Tenth streets west, at intersection of 
Pennsylvania avenue and Ninth street. 

Between Eighth and Ninth streets west, at intersection 
of Pennsylvania and Louisiana avenues. 

Between Seventh and Eighth streets west, at intersection 
of Pennsylvania and Louisiana avenues and C street 
north. 

Between Second and Third streets east, at intersection 
of Pennsylvania avenue and B street south. 

Between Fourth and Fifth streets east, at intersection of 
Pennsylvania and North Carolina avenues. 
Do. 
Do. 

Between Fifth and Sixth streets east, at intersection of 
Pennsylvania and North Carolina avenues. 
Do. 
Do. 

Between Seventh and Eighth streets east, at intersection 
of Pennsylvania and South Carolina avenues. 

Between Seventh and Eighth streets east, at intersection 
of Pennsylvania and South Carolina avenues and D 
street south. 

Between Seventh and Eighth streets east, at intersection 
of Pennsylvania avenue and D street south. 

Between Eighth and Ninth streets east, at intersection of 
Pennsylvania and South Carolina avenues and D street 
south. 

Between Eighth and Ninth streets east, at intersection of 
Pennsylvania avenue and D street south. 

Between Eighth and Ninth streets east, at intersecdonof 
Pennsylvania and South Carolina avenues. 

Between Tenth and Eleventh streets east, at intersection 
of Pennsvlvania avenue and E street south. 

Between Eleventh and Twelfth streets east, at intersec- 
tion of Pennsylvania avenue and E street south. 

Between Twelfth and Thirteenth streets east, at intersec- 
tion of Pennsylvania avenue and G street south. 

Between Thirteenth and Fourteenth streets east, at inter- 
section of Pennsylvania avenue and G street south. 

Between Twenty-first and Twenty-second streets west, at 
intersection of Massachusetts avenue and Q street north. 

On Massachusetts avenue, at Twenty-third streetswest. 

Between Twenty-flrst and Twenty-second streets west, at 
intersection of Massachusetts avenue and Q street north. 

Between Nineteenth and Twentieth streets west, at in- 
tersection of Massachusetts avenue and P street north. 

Between Eighteenth and Nineteenth streets west, at in- 
tersection of Massachusetts avenue and P street north. 

Between Sixteenth and Seventeenth streets west, at in- 
tersection of Massachusetts and Rhode Island avenues. 

Intersection of Massachusetts and Rhode Island avenues 
and Sixteentli street west. 

Between Fif ti'enth and Sixteenth streets west, at intersec- 
tion of Massachusetts and Rhode Island avenues north. 

Between Fourteenth and Fifteenth streets west, at inter- 
section of Massachusetts avenue and M street north. 

Intersection of Massachusetts and Vermont avenues and 
Fourteenth street west. 

Between Thirteenth and Fourteenth streets west, at in- 
tersection of Massachusetts avenue and M street north. 

Between Eleventh and Twelfth streets west, at intersec- 
tion of Massachusetts avenue and L street north. 

Between Tenth and Eleventh streets west, at intersection 
of Massachusetts avenue and L street north. 

Between Ninth and Tenth streets west, at intersection of 
Massachusetts and New York avenues and K street 
north. 
At intersection of Massachusetts avenue. Seventh street 

west, and K street north. 
Between Fifth and Sixth streets west, at intersection of 

Massachusetts avenue and I street north. 
Between Fourth and Fifth streets west, at intersection 

of Massachusetts avenue and I street north. 
At intersection of Massachusetts avenue and I street 
north and Fifth street west. 



S. Rep. 166- 



158 PAKK SYSTEM OF THE DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA. 

Table II. — Reservations under one acre in extent — Continued. 



Name. 



Triangle.. 

Do 

Circle 

Triangle.. 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Trapezoid 

Do.... 

Do.... 

Do 

Triangle.. 

Do 

Trapezoid 
Triangle. . 



Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 
Do. 



Trapezoid 
Triangle.. 



Do. 
Do. 



Do. 



Do. 
Do. 



Do 

Do 

Do 

Trapezoid 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Triangle. .. 

Do 



Official 
number. 


Area. 


75 


Sq. feet. 
5,400 


76 


7,320 


77 


15,393 


78 


4,725 


79 


1,205 


80 


1,205 


81 


4,062 


82 


4,418 


83 


4,915 


84 


9,594 


85 


8,506 


86 


8,007 


87 


960 


88 


10, 042 


89 


8,505 


90 


10, Oil 


91 


7,654 


92 


18, 354 


93 


11,178 


94 


1,574 


95 


787 


96 


1,760 


97 


1,875 


98 


8, 640 


99 
100 


4,897 
6,164 


101 


2,394 


102 


4,234 


103 
104 


1,342 
1,450 


105 


11, 096 


106 
107 


11, 467 
1,950 


108 


1,323 


109 


1,180 


110 


7,250 


111 


10, 237 


112 


8,695 


114 


10, 428 


115 


8,075 


116 


4, 625 


117 


16, 775 



Location. 



Intersection of Massachusetts avenue and H street north 
and between Third and Fourth streets west. 

Between Third and Fourth streets west, at intersection of 
Massachusetts avenue and H street north. 

Between North Capitol and First streets west, at intersec- 
tion of Massachusetts and New Jersey avenues. 

Between North Capitol and First streets west, at intersec- 
tion of Massachusetts avenue and F street north. 

Between North Capitol and First streets east, at intersec- 
tion of Massachusetts avenue and F street north. 

At intersection of Massachusetts and Delaware avenues 
and First street east. 

Between First and Second streets east, at intersection of 
Massachusetts avenue and E street north. 

Between Second and Third streets east, at intersection of 
Massachusetts avenue and D street north. 

At intersection of Massachusetts avenue, D street north, 
and Third street east. 

Between Sixth and Seventh streets east, at intersection of 
Massachusetts avenue and B street north. 

Between Eighth and Ninth streets east, at intersection 
of Massachusetts avenue and B street north. 

Between Eighth and Ninth streets east, at intersection 
of Massachusetts avenue and A street north. 

Between Ninth and Tenth streets east, at intersection 
of Massachusetts avenue and A street north. 

Between Thirteenth and Fourteenth streets east, at in- 
tersection of Massachusetts avenue and A street south. 

Between Thirteenth and Fourteenth streets east, at in- 
tersection of Massachusetts avenue and B street south. 

Between Fourteenth and Fifteenth streets east, at junc- 
tion of Massachusetts and South Carolina avenues 
southeast. 

Between Fourteenth and Fifteenth streets east, at inter- 
section of Massachusetts avenue and B street south. 

Between Seventeenth and Eighteenth streets east, at in- 
tersection of Massachusetts avenue and C street south. 

Between Eighteenth and Nineteenth streets east, at in- 
tersection of Massachusetts avenue and C street south. 

Between Twenty-seventh and Twenty-eighth streets 
west, at intersection of Virginia avenue and I street 
north. 

Between H and I streets north, at intersection of Vir- 
ginia avenue and Twenty-seventh street west. 

Between Twenty-sixth and Twenty-seventh streets west, 
at intersection of Virginia avenue and H street north. 

Between Twenty-fifth and Twenty-sixth streets west, at 
intersection of Virginia avenue and H street north. 

Between Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth streets west, 
at intersection of Virginia avenue and G street north. 
Do. 

Between Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth streets west, 
at intersection" of Virginia avenue and F street north. 

Between Twenty-second and Twenty-third streets west, 
at intersection of Virginia avenue and F street north. 

Between Twenty-first and Twenty-second streets west, 
at intersection of Virginia avenue and E street north. 
Do. 

Between Twenty-flrst and Twenty-second streets west, 
at intersection of Virginia avenue and D street north. 

Between Twentieth and Twenty-flrst streets west, at 
intersection of Virginia and New York avenues. 
Do. 

Between Nineteenth and Twentieth streets west, at 
intersection of Virginia avenue and D street north. 

Between Nineteenth and Twentieth .streets west, at 
intersection of Virginia avenue and C street north. 

Between Eighteenth and Nineteenth streets west, at 
intersection of Virginia avenue and C street north. 

Between Seventeenth and Eighteenth streets west, at 
intersection of Virginia avenue and B street north. 

Between Eleventh and Twelfth streets west, at intersec- 
tion of Virginia avenue and B street south. 

Between Ninth and Tenth streets west, at intersection 
of Virginia avenue and C street north. 

Between Sixth and Seventh streets west, at intersection 
of Virginia avenue and C street south. 

Between Sixth and Seventh streets west, at intersection 
of Virginia avenue and D street south. 

Between Four-and-a-half and Sixth streets west, at inter- 
section of Virginia avenue and D street south. 
Do. 



APPENDIX G. LANDS DEVOTED TO PUBLIC USE. 159 

Table II. — Reservations under one acre in extent — Continued. 



Trapezoid 
Triangle.. 
Trapezoid 
Triangle.. 
Trapezoid 
Triangle.. 
Trapezoid 

Do ... . 

Do ... . 
Triangle. . 

Do ... . 

Do ... . 

Do ... . 

Do.... 

Do.... 

Do.... 
Do.... 

Do.... 

Do.... 
Do.... 
Do.... 
Do.... 

Do.... 
Do.... 
Do.... 

Do.... 

Do.... 

Do.... 

Do.... 

Do. . . . 

Do.... 
Do.... 
Do.... 

Trapezoid 



Official 
number. 



118 
119 
120 
121 
122 
123 
124 
125 
127 
128 
129 
130 



132 

133 

134 
135 



Sq. feet. 
14, 414 

405 

4,032 

2, 580 

15,916 

16,183 

9,828 

18, 051 

25, 972 

7,272 

15, 225 

3,932 

1,298 

1,268 

8,816 

9,426 
1,014 

630 



Location. 



137 


1,750 


138 


2, 200 


139 


1, 995 


140 


6,995 


141 


1, 536 


142 


1,987 


143 


988 


144 


12, 264 


145 


3,838 


146 


5,400 


147 


3,700 


148 


4,120 


149 


7,470 


150 


6,435 


151 


3,025 



1,940 



Between Second and Tliird streets west, at intersection 
of Virginia avenue and E street south. 

Between First and Second streets west, at intersection of 
Virginia avenue and E street south. 

Between First street west and Delaware avenue, at inter- 
section of Virginia avenue and E street south. 

Between South Capitol and Half streets west, at intersec- 
tion of Virginia avenue and F street south. 

Between Fourth and Fifth streets east, at intersection of 
Virginia avenue and I street south. 

Between Sixth and Seventh streets east, at intersection 
of Virginia avenue and I street south. 

Between Sixth and Seventh streets east, at intersection 
of Virginia avenue and K street south. 

Between Eighth and Ninth streets east, at intersection 
of Virginia avenue and K street south. 

Between Eleventh and Twelfth streets east, at intersec- 
tion of Virginia avenue and L street south. 

Between Twelfth and Thirteenth streets east, at inter- 
section of Virginia avenue and M street south. 

Between Thirteenth and Fourteenth streets east, at in- 
tersection of Virginia avenue and M street south. 

Between Thirteenth and Fourteenth streets east, at in- 
tersection of Virginia avenue and Water street south- 
east. 

Between Twenty-sixth and Twenty-seventh streets west, 
at intersection of New Hampshire avenue and E street 
north. 

Between Twenty -sixth and Twenty-seventh streets west, 
at interse'ctioil of New Hampshire avenue and F street 
north. 

Between Twenty-fifth and Twenty-sixth streets west, at 
intersection of New Hampshire' avenue and G street 
north. 

Between Twenty-fifth and Twenty-sixth streets west, at 
intersection of New Hampshire and Virginia avenues. 

Between Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth streets west, at 
intersection of New Hampshire avenue and H street 
north. 

Between Twenty-fourth and Tvs^enty-flfth streets west, at 
intersection of New Hampshire avenue and I street 
north. 

Between I and K streets north, at intersection of New 
Hampshire avenue and Twenty-fourth street west. 

Between K and L streets north, at intersection of New 
Hampshire avenue and Twenty-second street west. 

Between L and M streets north, at intersection of New 
Hampshire avenue and Twenty-second street west. 

Between Twenty-first and Twenty-second streets west, at 
intersection of New Hampshire avenue and M street 
north. 

Between I>I and N streets north, at intersection of New 
Hampshire avenue and Twenty-first street west. 

Between N and O streets north, at intersection of New 
Hampshire avenue and Twentieth street west. 

Between Nineteentli and Twentieth streets west, at in- 
tersection of New Hampshire avenue and O street 
north. 

Between Seventeenth and Eighteenth streets .west, at 
intersection of New Hampshire avenue and S street 
north. 

Between Sixteenth and Seventeenth streets west, at in- 
tersection of New Hampshire avenue and T street 
north. 

Between Sixteenth and Seventeenth streets west, at in- 
tersection of New Hampshire avenue and U street 
north. 

Between Fifteenth and Sixteenth streets west, at inter- 
section of New Hampshire avenue and Sixteenth street 
west. 

Between Fifteenth and Sixteenth streets west, at inter- 
section of New Hampshire avenue and Fifteenth street 
west. 

Between Nineteenth and Twentieth streets west, at in- 
tersection of Connecticut avenue and Q street north. 

Between Seventeenth and Eighteenth streets west, at 
intersection of Connecticut avenue and M street north. 

Between Seventeenth street and Connecticut avenue, at 
intersection of Rhode Island avenue and M street 
north. 

Between Thirteenth and Fourteenth streets west, at in- 
tersection of Rhode Island avenue and P street north. 



160 PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

Table II. — Reservations under one acre in extent — Continued. 



Triangle. - 
Trapezoid 
Triangle . . 



Do. 
Do. 



Do. 
Do. 



Trapezoid 
Do.... 



Do 

Do 

Triangle . . . 
Trapezoid . 
Triangle.. 

Do 

Trapezoid 
Triangle. . 



Do 

Trapezoid 

Do 

Do 

Do.... 
Do.... 
Do.--- 
Do.... 
Do.... 



Triangle... 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Trapezoid , 

Do 

Triangle.. 
Trapezoid 



154 

155 

156 

157 
158 

159 
160 

161 
162 



Sq. feet. 
11, 930 

1,856 

868 

9,185 
687 

6,630 
2,530 

960 
960 



163 


7,700 


164 


1,700 


165 


2,467 


166 


3, 150 


167 


3,300 


168 


4,087 


169 


3, 045 


170 


11,695 


171 


8,170 


172 


3,967 


173 


12,840 


174 


13,482 


176 


5,450 


176 


5,960 


177 


540 


178 


7,181 


179 


9,064 


181 


22, 152 


182 


4,712 


183 


4,712 


184 


7,618 


185 


7,618 


186 


^,272 


187 


4,028 


188 


3,718 


189 


2,296 


190 


6,450 


191 


5,735 


192 


8,550 


193 


9,386 


194 


5, 725 



Location. 




Between Twelfth and Thirteenth streets west, at inter- 
section of Rhode Island avenue and P street north. 
Between P and Q streets north, at intersection of Rhode 

Island avenue and Tenth street west. 
Between Ninth and Tenth streets west, at intersection of 
Rhode Island avenue at Q street north. 
Do. 
Between Sixth and Seventh streets west, at intersection 
of Rhode Island avenue and R street north. 
Do. 
Between Fourth and Fifth streets west, at intersection 
of Rhode Island and New Jersej' avenues and S street 
north. 
Between L and M streets north, at intersection of Ver- 
mont avenue and Fourteenth street west. 
Between M and N streets north, at intersection of Ver- 
mont avenue and Fourteenth street west, at front of 
Martin Luther's statue. 
Between O and P streets north, at intersection of Ver- 
mont avenue and Thirteenth street west. 
Between P and Q streets north, at intersection of Ver- 
mont avenue and Thirteenth street west. 
Between Twelfth and Thirteenth streets west, at inter- 
section of Vermont avenue and R street north. 
Between R and S streets west, at intersection of Vermont 

avenue and Twelfth street west. 
Between Eleventh and Twelfth streets west, at intersec- 
tion of Vermont avenue and S street north. 
Between Tenth and Eleventh streets west, at intersection 

of Vermont avenue and Eleventh street west. 
Between S and T streets north, at intersection of Ver- 
mont avenue and Tenth street west. 

Between Ninth and Tenth streets west, and T and U 
streets north, 8t intersection of Vermont avenue and 
Tenth street west. 

Between Twenty-second and Twenty-third streets west, 
at intersectiori of New York avenue and C street north. 

Between Thirteenth and Fourteenth .streets west, at 
intersection of New York avenue and H street north. 

Between Eleventh and Twelfth streets west, at intersec- 
tion of New York avenue and I street north. 

Between Tenth and Eleventh streets west, at intersection 
of New York avenue and I street north. 

Between Ninth and Tenth streets west, at intersection 
of New York avenue and K street north. 

Between Sixth and Seventh streets west, at intersection 
of New York avenue and K street north. 

Between Fifth and Sixth streets west, at intersection of 
New Y'ork avenue and L street north. 

Between Fourth and Fifth streets west, at intersection of 
New York avenue and L street north. 

Between Third and Fourth streets west, at intersection 
of New York and New Jersey avenues and M street 
north. 

Between First and Second street west, at intersection of 
New York avenue and M street north. 

Between First street west and North Capitol street, at 
intersection of New York avenue and M street north. 

Between First street east and North Capitol street, at in- 
tersection of New York avenue and N street north. 

Between North Capitol and First streets east, at intersec- 
tion of New York avenue and O street north. 

Between First and Second streets east, at junction of 
New York and Florida avenues and O street north. 

Between Thirteenth and Thirteen-and-a-half streets west, 
at intersection of Ohio avenue and C street north. 

Between Fifth and Sixth streets west, at intersection of 
Louisiana avenue and D street north. 

Between Third and Fourth streets west, at intersection 
of Indiana avenue and D street north. 

Between First and Second streets west, at intersection of 
Indiana avenue and C street north. 

Between P and Q streets north, at intersection of New 
Jersey avenue and Fourth street west. 

Between Third and Fourth streets west, at intersection 
of New Jersey avenue and O street north. 

Between Third and Fourth streets west, at intersection 
of new Jersey avenue and N street north. 

At intersectiori of New Jersey avenue and I street north 
and Second street west. 

Between H and I streets north, at intersection of New 
Jersey avenue and I street and Second street west. 



APPENDIX G. LANDS DEVOTED TO PUBLIC USE. 

Table II. — Reservations under one acre in extent — Continued. 



161 



Name. 



Trapezoid 

Do.... 

Do.... 

Do.... 

Do.... 

Do.... 
Triangle.. 



Garfield circle . 
Triangle 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Trapezoid 

Do 

Do 

Triangle 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Trapezoid 

Triangle 

Do 

Trapezoid 

Do 

Triangle 

Do 

Trapezoid 

Do 

Triangle 

Trapezoid 

Triangle 

Trapezoid 

Do -- 

Do 

Triangle 

Trapezoid 

Do 

Triangle 

Do 



Official 
number. 



195 
196 
197 
198 
199 
200 
•201 

202 
203 
204 
205 
206 
207 
208- 
209 
210 
211 
212 
213 
214 
215 
216 
217 
218 
219 
220 
221 
222 
223 
224 
225 
226 
227 
228 
229 
230 
231 
232 
233 
234 
235 



Sq. feet. 
12.572 

5, 170 

4, 402 

5,029 

4,132 

10, 098 

22, 095 

6,361 

10, 296 
7, 820 

12, 152 
4,860 
3, 213 
3,720 
4,496 

10, 860 
4,588 
4,095 
3,330 
2,100 
0, 039 
6,039 
552 
2,100 

25, 642 

11,340 

4,576 

405 

10,815 

25,240 
4, 508 

23, 482 
4,628 
7,093 
9, 702 

16,368 

506 

7,837 

7,406 

900 

10,556 



Location. 



Between G and H streets north, at intersection of New 
Jersey avenue and First street west. 

Between E and F streets north, at intersection of New 
Jersey avenue and First street west. 

Between Twelfth and Thirteenth streets west, at inter- 
section of Maryland avenue and D street south. 

Between Ninth and Terith streets west, at intersection of 
Maryland avenue and D street south. 

Between Ninth and Tenth streets west, at intersection of 
MarvlaiKl avenue and C .street south. 

Between Sixth and Seventh streets west, at intersection 
of Maryland avenue and C street south. 

Between Third and Four-and-a-half streets west, at in- 
tersection of Maryland avenue and Band Canal streets 
south. 

At junction of Maryland avenue with First street south- 
west. 

Between First and Second streets east, at intersection of 
Maryland avenue and A street north. 

Between First and Second streets east, at intersection of 
Maryland avenue and B street north. 

Between Second and Third streets east, at intersection of 
Maryland avenue and B street north. 

Between Si.xth and Seventh streets east, at intersection of 
Marvland avenue and D street north. 

Between Seventh and Eighth streets east, at intersection 
of Maryland avenue and D street north. 

Between" Eighth and Ninth streets east, at intersection of 
Maryland avenue and E street north. 

Between Tenth and Eleventh streets east, at intersection 
of Maryland avenue and E street north. 

Between" Eleventh and Twelfth streets east, at inter.sec- 
tion of Maryland avenue and F street north. 

Between Twe"lfth and Thirteenth streets east, at inter- 
section of Maryland avenue and F street north. 

Between Thirteenth and Fourteenth streets east, at in- 
tersection of Maryland avenue and G street north. 

Between Thirteenth and Fourteenth streets east, at in- 
tersection of Maryland avenue and G street north. 

Between O and P streets south, at intersection of Dela- 
ware avenue and Third street west. 

Between Second and Third streets west, at intersection 
of Delaware avenue and N street north. 

Between Second and Third streets west, at intersection 
of Delaware avenue and M street south. 

Between L and M streets south, at intersection of Dela- 
ware avenue and Second street west. 

Between K and L streets south, at intersection of Dela- 
ware avenue and Second street west. 

Between 1 and K streets south and Delaware avenue and 
Second street west. 

Between I and H streets south and Delaware avenue 
and First street west. 

Between G and H streets south, at intersection of Dela- 
ware avenue and First street west. 

Between F and G streets south, at intersection of Dela- 
ware avenue and First street west. 

Between E and F streets south and Delaware avenue 
and First street west. 

At intersection of Massachusetts and Delaware avenues. 
First street east, and F street north. 

Between F and G streets north, at intersection of Dela- 
ware avenue and First street east. 

Between G and H streets north, at intersection of Dela- 
ware avenue and First street east. 

Between Land M streets north, at intersection of Dela- 
ware avenue and Second street east. 

Between M and N streets north, at intersection of Dela- 
ware avenue and Second street east. 

Between First and Second streets east, at intersection of 
North Carolina avenue and E street south. 

Between Si.xth and Seventh streets east, at intersection 
of North Carolina avenue and B street south. 

Between A and B streets south, at intersection of North 
Carolina avenue and Eighth street east. 

Between Eighth and Ninth streets east, at intersection of 
North Carolina avenue and B street south. 

Between Eighth and Ninth streets east, at intersection of 
North Carolina avenue and A street south. 

Between Ninth and Tenth streets east, at intersection of 
North Carolina avenue and A street south. 

Between Thirteenth and Fourteenth streets east, at in- 
tersection of North Carolina avenue and A street north. 



162 PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

Table II. — Reservations under one acre In extent — ■Continued. 



Name. 



Trapezoid . 
Triangle... 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Trapezoid 
Triangle.. 



Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 

Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 



Official 
number. 


Area. 


236 


Sq.feet. 
8,883 


237 


600 


238 


7,698 


239 


10, 351 


240 


5,642 


241 


5,046 


242 


21,900 


243 


20, 878 


244 


20, 234 


245 


24, 727 


246 


20, 520 


247 


30, 975 


248 


1,500 


249 


5, 180 


250 


1, 827 


251 


10,914 


252 


10, 700 


253 


9,144 


254 


10, 753 


255 


0,510 


256 


,937 


257 


15,748 


258 


8, 972 


259 


5,395 


260 


3,850 


261 


2,116 


262 


2, 040 


263 


1,762 


264 


2, 592 


265 


1,462 


266 


5,742 


267 


6, 348 


268 


6,043 


269 


3,250 


270 


877 


271 


687 


272 


437 


273 


418 


274 


350 


275 


870 



Location. 



Between Thirteenth and Fourteenth streets east, at in- 
tersection of North Carolina avenue and B street north. 

Between Fourteenth and Fifteenth streets east, at inter- 
section of North Carolina avenue and B street north. 

Between Fourteenth and Fifteenth streets east, at inter- 
section of North Carolina avenue and B street north. 

Between Fifteenth and Sixteenth streets east, at inter- 
section of North Carolina avenue and C street north. 

Between Twelfth and Thirteenth streets east, at inter- 
section of South Carolina avenue and C street south. 

Between Twelfth and Thirteenth streets east, at inter- 
section of South Carolina avenue and C street south. 

Between Second and Third streets west, at intersection 
of Georgia avenue and S street south. 

Between First and Second streets west, at intersection of 
Georgia avenue and R street south. 

Between Half and First streets west, at intersection of 
Georgia avenue and R street south. 

Between South Capitol and Half streets west, at inter- 
section of Georgia avenue and Q streets south. 

Between South Capitol and Half streets east, at inter- 
section of Georgia avenue and Q streets south. 

Between Half and First streets east, at intersection of 
Georgia avenue and P street south. 

Between First and Second streets east, at intersection of 
Georgia avenue and O street south. 

At intersection of Georgia avenue and Fourth and N 
streets southeast. 

At intersection of Georgia avenue, N, Fifth, and Canal 
streets southeast. 

Between Eighth and Ninth streets east, at intersection of 
Georgia avenue and M street south. 

Between Eleventh and Twelfth streets east, at intersec- 
tion of Georgia avenue and K street south. 

Between Twelfth and Thirteenth streets east, at inter- 
section of Georgia avenue and K street south. 

Between Twelfth and Thirteenth streets east, at inter- 
section of Georgia avenue and I street south. 

Between Fourteenth and Fifteenth streets east, at inter- 
section of Georgia avenue and G street south. 

Between Fifteenth and Sixteenth streets east, at inter- 
section of Georgia and Kentucky avenues and G street 
south. 

Between Seventeenth and Eighteenth streets east, at in- 
tersection of Georgia avenue and E street south. 

Between Eighteenth and Nineteenth streets east, at in- 
tersection of Georgia avenue and E street south. 

Between Twelfth and Thirteenth streets east, at intersec- 
tion of Kentucky avenue and B street south. 

Between Thirteenth and Fourteenth streets east, at inter- 
section of Kentucky avenue and B street south. 

Between Thirteenth and Fourteenth streets east, at in- 
tersection of Kentucky avenue and D street south. 

Between Fourteenth and Fifteenth streets east, at inter- 
section of Kentucky avenue and D street south. 

Between Fourteenth and Filteenth streets east, at inter- 
section of Kentucky avenue and Fifteenth street east. 

Between Fifteentn and Sixteenth streets east, at inter- 
section of Georgia and Kentucky avenues and G street 
.south. 

Between Fifteenth and Sixteenth streets east, at inter- 
section of Kentucky avenue and H street south. 

Betweeii Twelfth and Thirteenth streets east, at inter- 
section of Tennessee avenue and B street north. 

Between Thirteenth and Fourteenth streets east, at in- 
tersection of Tennessee avenue and B street north. 

Between Thirteenth and Fourteenth streets east, at in- 
tersection of Tennessee avenue and D street north. 

Between Fourteenth and Fifteenth streets east, at inter- 
section of Tennessee avenue and E street north. 

At intersection of Florida avenue and Twenty-first street 
northwest. 

At intersection of Florida avenue and V street north, 
between Seventeenth and Eighteenth streets west. 

At intersection of Florida avenue and Tenth street 
northwest. 

Between Ninth and Tenth streets west, at intersection of 
Vermont avenue and V street north. 

Between Sixth and Seventh streets west, at intersection 
of Florida avenue and T street north. 

Between Fourth and Fifth streets west, at intersection of 
Florida avenue and S street north. 



APPENDIX G. LANDS DEVOTED TO PUBLIC USE. 163 

Table II. — Reservations under one acre in extent — Continued. 



Name. 



Triangle. 
Do... 



Circle 

Triangle. 



Do 

Do 

Do 

Trapezoid . 
Triangle. . . 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Trapezium 
Triangle.. - 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

-Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 



Do 

* Trapezoid . 



♦ Circle 



Official 
number. 



276 

277 

'277a 
278 

279 

280 

281 

282 

283 

284 

285 

286 

287 

288 

289 

290 

291 

292 

293 

294 

295 

296 

297 

298 

299 

300 

301 



Sq. feet. 
870 



11,310 
9i0 

481 

725 

700 

1,053 

600 

450 

10, 500 

1,905 

2,929 

11,462 

1,520 

5,700 

2,280 

8, 125 

2,100 

11,400 

9,108 

9,954 

1,750 

3,250 

7,875 

3,450 

1,235 
4,124 



Location. 



Between First and Third streets west, at intersection of 

Florida avenue and R street north. 
Between North Capitol street and First street west, at 

intersection of Florida avenue and Q street north. 
On North Capitol street, at Florida avenue north. 
Between North Capitol street and First street east, at 

intersection of Florida avenue and P street north. 
Between Third and Fourth streets east, at intersection of 

Florida avenue and N street north. 
Between Sixth and Seventh streets east, at intersection 

of Florida avenue and M street north. 
Between Ninth and Tenth streets east, at intersection of 

Florida avenue and L street north. 
Between Eleventh and Twelfth streets east, at intersec- 
tion of Florida avenue and K street north. 
Between Thirteenth and Fourteenth streets east, at inter- 
section of Florida avenue and I street north. 
Between Canal street, at intersection of B and Second 

streets southwest. 
Between Canal street, at intersection of First and D 

streets south Avest. 
At intersection of Canal, South Capitol, and E streets 

southeast. 
At intersection of Canal street, H street south, and Half 

street eSiSt 
Between H and I streets south, at intersection of New 

Jersey avenue. Canal, and First streets east. 
At intersection of New Jersey avenue, Canal, and I 

At intersection of South Capitol, I, and H streets south- 
west. 

At intersection of I and Half streets southwest, on west 
side of canal. 

Between L and M streets south, and Half and First streets 
west, on west side of canal. 

At intersection of canal and N streets south and First 

At intersection of Water street, N street south, and Sixth 
street west. 

Between U and V streets south, at intersection of Water 
and Half streets west. 

Between T and U streets south, at intersection of Water 
and Half streets west. 

Between R and S streets south, at Intersection ot South 
Capitol and Water streets. 

Between Twelfth and Thirteenth streets east, at inter- 
section of N and Water streets south. 

Between Fourteenth and Fifteenth streets east, at inter- 
section of Water street and M street south. 

Between Fifteenth and Sixteenth streets east, at inter- 
section of Water street and L street south. 
Do. 

Between Sixth and Seventh streets north, at intersection 
of C street and Pennsylvania avenue. 

Between Sixth and Seventh streets north, at intersection 
of C street and Louisiana Avenue. 



Total number of reservations under 1 acre in extent 275 

Total area of reservations under 1 acre in extent acres. . ii. ^6 

Average size of reservations under 1 acre in extent do .w 

Total number of all minor reservations 301 

Total area of all minor reservations acres. . lub. y^ 

Total area free from buildings "O i"^- ^^ 



164 PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

CLASS B.— LARGE PARKS. 

CENTRAL GROUP. 

[A dagge/ (t) indicates control bv tiie Joint Committee on ttie Library; a double dagger (I) indicates 
control by the Department of Agriculture; all others are under control of the Superintendent of 
Public Buildings and Grounds.] 



Capitol grounds . 



Mall: 

f Botanical Gar- 
dens. 

Public Gardens 
(Seaton Park). 

Armory Square 
(Henry Park) . 

Grounds of Smith- 
sonian Institu- 
tion. 

X Ground.? of De- 
partment of Ag- 
riculture. 

Grounds of Wash- 
ington Monu- 
ment. 

Grounds of Fish 
Commission. 

President's Park 
(White Lot). 

Total of central 
group. 
To above total of 347.9 
acres in central 
group may be added 
the White House 
grounds, although 
not open to public 
except on few spe- 
cial occasions. 

Grand total of 
central group. 



Official 
number. 



Ap- 
proxi- 
mate 
area oc- 
cupied 

by 
build- 
ings. 



5,6 

4 



Acres. 
59.1 



11.8 

19 

14.9 

58 

35 
78.5 
18.9 
52.9 



348.1 
18.5 



Aci-es. 
2.5 



.40 



3.1 



10.39 



Location. 



Between B street north and B street south, First 
street east and First street west. 

Between Pennsylvania and Maryland avenues, and 
First and Third streets west. 

Between Missouri and Maine avenues, and Third 
and Sixth streets west. 

Between B street north and B street south, and 
Sixth and Seventh streets west. Occupied in 
part by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company and 
the Fish Commission. 

Between B street north and B street south. Seventh 
and Twelfth streets west. Occupied by the 
Smithsonian Institution, the National Museum, 
and Army Medical Mu.seum. 

Between b" street north and B street south, and 
Twelfth and Fourteenth streets west. Occupied 
by the Agricultural Department. 

Between B street north and B street south and Po- 
tomac Park, and Fourteenth street west and Fish 
Commission grounds. 

Between B street north and Potomac Park, Monu- 
ment grounds and Potomac Park. Occupied by 
the breeding ponds of the Fish Commission. 

Between White House grounds and B street north, 
and Fifteenth and Seventeenth streets northwest. 



Between Pennsylvania avenue northwest, and 
President's Park and Treasury building and 
State, War, and Navy building. These grounds 
are occupied by the White House and its con- 
servatories, and are highly Improved. 



Total number of reservations in central group 10 

Total area of reservations in central group acres. . 366. 60 

Total area free from buildings do 356. 21 

Average size do 36.66 

ZOOLOGICAL PARK. 

Present area acres. . 170 

ROCK CREEK PARK. 

Present area acres. . 1, 605. 9 

POTOMAC PARK. 

Present area acres. . 739. 4 



CENTRAL GROUP. 

Present area acres. . 366. 6 

Total area of large parks do 2, 881. 9 



APPENDIX G. LANDS DEVOTED TO PUBLIC USE. 



165 



CLASS C —GROUNDS CONNECTED WITH PUBLIC BUILDINGS, INSTITUTIONS, OR DEPART- 
MENTS A.ND PRIMARILY INTENDED FOR OTHER PURPOSES, BUT INCIDENTALLY 
OPEN TO THE PEOPLE UNDER LIMITATIONS. 

[Only those marked with an asterisk (*) are ordinarily open to the people.] 



Almshouse . 



Girls' Reform School . , 
Bellevue ..'..■ 



Citv farm 



Columbia Institute for 
Deaf Mutes. 

Government Hospital 

for the Insane. 
United States farm — 



Military cemetery 

Municipal hospital 
grounds. 

* Naval Observatory.. 



Navv-yard. 



* Old Naval Observa- 
tory (now Naval Mu- 
seum of Hygiene). 

Reform School 



* Soldiers' Home 

Washington Barracks , 

White House grounds , 
Total area 



Acres. 
265. 00 



110. 34 

363. 63 

59.63 

1 
33.44 

89.8 

43.12 
16.90 

278 

502 
62 

18.50 



Approxi- 
mate area 
occupied 
by build- 
ings. 



Acres. 



2, 012. 36 



8.38 
.36 

.75 

2.00 
2.46 



Location, character, etc. 



A new site for the District almshouse recently purchased 
at the southern end of the District, on the Anacostia 
side, adjacent to the United States powder magazine. 
It extends from the District line to the grounds of the 
powder magazine, and from Bald Eagle Hill to the 
shore line near Shepherds Landing. Five-sixths of 
this area are either fiat or a very gentle slope, and the 
remainder is on a steep hillside that includes part of 
the proposed Shepherd parkway. 

A wooded hilltop adjoining the receiving reservoir, near 
the western corner of the District. 

A low-lying tract containing the U. S. powder magazine, 
on the shore of the Potomac, near the new almshouse 
grounds and the southern point of the District. 

A partially developed tract, with a few good trees, lying 
between Nineteenth street east and the Anacostia River, 
occupied by the almshouse and jail. The former is to 
be removed. These grounds will be crossed by the pro- 
posed extension of Massachusetts avenue. A portion 
would be occupied by the proposed Anacostia Park. 

A wooded tract north of Florida avenue on the line of 
Eighth street east. Its extreme northerly end would 
form part of the proposed belt park system. 

A hilly, wooded tract on the eastern bank of the Ana- 
costia River, overlooking the Potomac and the city. 

An uncultivated tract lying immediately west of Gies- 
boro road. 

A tract of open rolling land, with scattered trees, recently 
acquired by District on the line of Thirteenth street ex- 
teaded, between Seventh street road and Piney Branch. 

A wooded upland tract on the line of Massachusetts 
avenue, half a mile west of Rock Creek, commanding 
extensive views over the city. Occupied by observa- 
tory buildings, but serving also as a place of resort. 

Between M street southeast and Anacostia River and 
Sixth and Ninth streets southeast. Principally occu- 
pied by the ordnance construction shops of the Navy. 

A hill, over 90 feet high, between Twenty-third and 
Twenty-fifth streets west and E street and B street 
north, "commanding an exceptionally beautiful view. 

A tract of high land at the northeastern boundary of the 
District, commanding excellent views over the Ana- 
costia Valley and in other directions. 

On the line of North Capitol street, halfway to the Dis- 
trict line. 

A flat, low-lying tract at the foot of Four-and-a-half street. 
Lately an" artillery post, it is now to be the .site of a 
school of applied engineering and of a war college. 

South of Pennsylvania avenue, between Fifteen-and-a- 
half and Sixteen-and-a-half streets. Open to the public 
only on special occasions. 



Receiving reservoir . 



* Conduit road 

Distributing reservoir . 



Reservation with water gate 
and pump. 

Do 

Do 

Georgetown reservoir 

Howard University reservoir 

Filter 



281.75 



27.50 


64 


3.4 


2.33 

.94 

1.50 

67.70 



On Potomac River and on western boundary of District, 
lying partly in District and partly in Maryland. The Dis- 
trict portion is heavily wooded and the land is basin-like. 

A level drive, over water conduit, from District line to valley 
of Foundry Branch. 

On Potomac River near Conduit road and New Cut road. 
Has little land about it. 

In Foundry Branch Valley. 

Rock Creek Valley near Massachusetts avenue. 
Washington Heights near Eighteenth street. 
Thirty-second and U streets. Little ground around it. 
Between Soldiers' Home grounds and Howard University. 

To be connected with filter plant lying east. 
Groxinds. 



Total number of grounds 

Total area 

Total area free from buildings . . . 

Average size 

Total area in classes A, B, and C . 
Total usually open to the public . 



.acres. 
..do... 
..do... 
..do... 
..do... 



25 
2, 495. 48 
2,473.43 
99.81 
5, 544. 68 
1, 105. 25 



APPENDIX H.— LIST OF PROPOSED ADDITIONAL RESER- 
VATIONS. 

[Shown in green lines on map No. D-288.] 



CLASS A.— SMALL RESERVATIONS AND FORTS. 



Approxi- 
Temporary designation. ! mate 
area. 



Location. 



Fort Baker 

Fort Bunker HilL 
Fort Chaplin 



Fort Davis. 



Fort Dupont 

Fort Howard 

Fort Mahan 

Meridian Hill . . . 
Battery Parrott. . 
Battery Ricketts. 
Fort Sedgwick... 



Fort Slemmer . 
Fort Stanton . . 
Fort Stevens. . 
Tenley Circle. 



Fort Thayer . 
FortTotten.. 



Total area . 



Acres. 
13.8 
11.9 
20.2 

25.7 

24.8 
3.7 

55.1 

18.0 
1.8 
3.7 

22.0 

19.3 

66.1 

12.8 

6.4 

n.o 

47.7 



Near Bowen road and Overlook Inn, southeast. 

At Brookland, on University Heights, northeast. 

Near junction of Central avenue and Bennings road, south- 
east. 

At junction of Bowen road and Pennsylvania avenue ex- 
tended, southeast. 

At junction of Bowen road and Ridge road, southeast. 

Near River road and District boundary, northwest. 

Near Bennings, northeast. 

North of Florida avenue on Sixteenth street, northwest. 

On Ridge road near distributing reservoir, northwest. 

On hill east of Anacostia village, southeast. 

South of junction of Central avenue and Benning road, 
southeast. 

East of Soldiers' Home, near Harewood road, northeast. 

On hill above Anacostia village, southeast. 

At Brightwood, near Military road, northwest. 

At junction of Nebraska avenue and Georgetown and Rock- 
ville road, northwest. 

Near Boys' Reform School, northeast. 

On Bates road, north of Soldiers' Home, northeast. 



CLASS B.— LARGE PARKS. 



Anacostia Park.jj^^^^''- 



Analostan Island 

Mount Hamilton Park 

Fort Kemble 

Patterson Park 

Fort Reno 

Total area 




Between Massachusetts avenue and District line, on Anacostia 
River, northeast. 

In Potomac River, west of Mall. 

On Bladensburg road, northeast. 

At head of Chain Bridge road, northwest. 

Adjoining Columbian Institute for Deaf-Mutes, northeast. 

At Tenley near Georgetown and Rockville road, northwest. 



CLASS C— ADDITIONS TO GROUNDS CONNECTED WITH PUBLIC BUILDINGS, INSTITUTIONS, 
OR DEPARTMENTS AND PRIMARILY INTENDED FOR OTHER PURPOSES BUT INCI- 
DENTALLY OPEN TO THE PEOPLE UNDER LIMITATIONS. 



Howard University Reser- 
voir. 

Old Naval Observatory 

Soldiers' Home or filter 
grounds. 

Washington Barracks 

Total area 



Acres. 
8.1 


19.3 
12.8 


30.2 


70.4 



On westerly side of Howard University Reservoir, north- 
west (three small parcels). 

On westerly side of old Naval Observatory, northwest. 

On southerly end of Soldiers' Home grounds, east of filter 

grounds, northeast. 
On westerly side and southerly end of Washington Barracks. 



Total area in classes A, B, and C, in acres, 2,141.4. 



167 



168 PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

CLASS D.— PARKWAYS AND PARK CONNECTIONS. 



Temporary designation. 


Approxi- 
mate 
area. 


Broad Brancli parljway 

Eckington parliwav 


mies. 
2 

1.2 


Georgetown parkw"ay 

Mount Hamilton parkway.. 
Piney Brancli parkway 


1.6 

.75 
1.6 

3.2 


Quavs 


8.5 



Riverside drive 


2.8 


Rock Creek parkway 


2 

.8 




2.7 


Soapstone Creek parkway... 
Soldiers' Home parkway 


1.2 
1.2 


Stickfoot Creek parkway 


1.75 



To which may be added 
streets and avenues which 
should be widened and 
parked to form adequate 
connections: 

Fort drive 

Nebraska avenue 

Yuma street 

Mount Vernon road 

Total length 



1 


25 


1 


75 


51 


30 


14 





From Tenleytown to Rock Creek Park, via Fort Reno Reser- 
voir and Broad Branch Valley, northwest. 

From Soldiers' Home to Patterson estate, northeast 

From Rock Creek, at Massachusetts avenue, to Foundry 
Brook Valley, northwest. 

Prom Patterson estate to Mount Hamilton, northeast. 

From southern end of Rock Creek Park to Seventh street 
road at Municipal Hospital grounds, northwest. 

From Foundry Brook Valley, along the Potomac River, to 
District line, northwest. 

Rock Creek mouth to Mall, northwest; Mall to Washington 
barracks, southwest; Washington barracks to Navy- Yard, 
southwest and southeast; Navy- Yard to Massachusetts ave- 
nue, and returning on eastern side of Anacostia River to 
Giesboro Point, southeast. 

From Giesboro Point to United States Powder Magazine, and 
from Powder Magazine to District line, southeast, 

From Zoological Park to Potomac River, northwest. 

From Municipal Hospital grounds to northern end of Sol- 
diers' Home grounds, northwest. 

From grounds of Government Hospital for the Insane to Bald 
Eagle Hill, near site for new Almshouse, southeast. 

From Tenleytown to Rock Creek Park, northwest. 

From Rock Creek Church road along easterly side of Soldiers' 
Home to Michigan avenue, northeast. 

From Anacostia River to Hamilton road, southeast. 



From Rock Creek, at Military road, following the chain of 
old forts to Anacostia River, and from Anacostia River, 
following the forts on the ridge, to Government Hospital 
for the Insane. 

From Ridge road to Tenleytown, northwest. 

From Tenleytown to receiving reservoir, northwest. 



APPENDIX I. —PROPOSED ADDITIONS TO EXISTING 

PARKS. 

[Shown in green lines on map Ko. D-288.] 



ZOOLOGICAL PARK. 



1. To extend the park at its southerly end to the nearest street as laid out 
on the highway-extension plans a strip of land is needed. This land is a steep 
hillside facing the park and has been occupied in part by a cemetery. It 
immediately overlooks Adams JNIill road, one of the principal entrance-drives 

of the park. 
Area of above proposed addition (about) acres. . 5 

2. At the southeasterly side, beginning at the Adams Mill road and extend- 
ing along the westerly slope of Lanier Heights to Kenesaw avenue, lies a strip 
of land that is needed in order to put under control of the park authorities a 
steep hillside close to the creek, from which in places fragments are con- 
stantly rolling down into the park to the great danger of animals and visitors. 
It is, moreover, very intimately a part of the parks cenery, and its develop- 
ment for private purpose would be a great injury. The line recommended 
coincides with the nearest street of the highway-extension plan and would 
make it possible to provide a new park entrance to take the place of Old 
Quarry road. 

Area of above proposed addition (about) acres. . 6. 4 

3. At the westerly side of the park there is a considerable area between Con- 
necticut avenue and the present boundary. North of Cathedral avenue this 
is too narrow to allow a double row of lots, and if no further action is taken 
the frontage of the park for 1,000 feet on each side of the main entrance will 
be upon a row of back yards. One of two things should be done: Either to 
take the whole tract and bring the park frontage out to Connecticut avenue, 
or to provide for a new street parallel with Connecticut avenue and about 400 
feet away from it extending from Cathedral avenue to Klingle Ford Valley, 
and to sell off the small strip of park land lying outside of the street. The 
first would be the more dignified and desirable treatment, but as the land does 
not form an essential part of any park landscape the second would be per- 
fectly reasonable, and, in view of the high price of the lots facing on the ave- 
nue, perhaps, the wiser course. If the second alternative is adopted, however, 
it is essential that some additional land should be taken at the entrance in 
order to give it greater dignity. In either ease it would be desirable to secure 
the low land in the Klingle Valley adjacent to the park for the better protec- 
tion of its borders, and in order to provide for the construction of a road lead- 
ing from the high land near Connecticut avenue to the northern part of Rock 
Creek Valley. 

The area of the whole tract in question is (about) acres. . 21. 6 

The park area which would be sold if the second project were adopted is 
about 7.06 acres, and the area to be acquired in Klingle Valley about 11.5 
acres. 



Total area in acres of proposed addition to Zoological Park 33. 

Total area in acres of Zoological Park as increased 203. 

169 






7 A ^-|, 



UNITED STATES SENA1 



DISTRICT 



PUBLIC RESERVATIONS AND POSSESSIONS /s 

IN THE OFFICE OF THE COMMISSION ( 

THE OFFICE OF THE ENGINEER ( 

SURVEY, THE UNITED STATES 



200 200 



OOMMISSIOI 

DANIEL H. BURNHAM, CH 
CHARLES F. MCKIM, NEW 



Elevations are in Feet, and reft 



Areas shown in Green [ | 



1^ -^ 
Areas shown in Buff 



\^ i\ If /j T\ i Department Buildings shown ir 



Department Buildings shown ir 









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U:^\ 



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TED STATES SEN 



HE DISTRICT OF COUUM 




MAP 

OF THE 

DISTRICT OF ( OLLTMI3IA 

SHOWING 

PUBLIC RESERVATIONS AND POSSESSIONS AND^ THE PERMANENT SYSTEM OF HIGHWAYS. COMPILED AND DRAWN 

IN THE OFFICE OF THE COMMISSION ON THE PARK SYSTEM. FROM PLANS AND DATA FURNISHED BY 

THE OFFICE OF THE ENGINEER COW„MISSIONER. THE UNITED STATES COAST AND GEODETIC 

SURVEY, THE UNITED STATES GE OLOGICAL SURVEY. AND THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, 

SCALE 235^0 



NOVEMBER. 1901 



No. 1) '2S7 



t NOTE ; 

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•01 Bulldioj. iliov.0 10 Biov",„ [^^ .,. r.oi.d. 



^^'^=^ 





UNITED STATES SENAT 



DISTRICT 



AREAS RECOMMENDED TO BE TAKEN 
COMPILED AND DRAWN IN THE 



zoo 



COMMISSIC 
DANIEL H. BURNHAM, Cl 
CHARLES F. MCKtM, NE\ 



No.D-288 



Elevations are in Feet, and refer 
Areas shown in Green Lines [1 
Areas shown in Green Web rj 
Areas shown in Green Dashes p 
Areas shown in Green m 

Departnnent Buildings shown in E 
Department Buildings shown in I 



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TED STATES SENATE jCOMMITTEE 



MAP 

OF THE 



DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 



PUBLIC RESERVATIONS AND POSSESSIONS AND AREAS RECOMMENDED TO BE TAKEN AS NECESSARY 

FOR NEW PARKS AND PARK CONNECTIONS, COMPILED AND DRAWN IN THE OFFICE 

OF THE COMMISSION ON THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE PARK SYSTEM. 



SCALE zinreo 



NOVEMBER, 1901 



No. D-289 



INDEX 



Agriculture, Department of, 13, 43, 65; building for, 44; experiment stations of, 144. 

Allen, Lieut. Col. Charles J., Corps of Engineers, U. S. A., 56, 105; repoi't of, on 
Anacostia flats, 106. 

Almshouse farm, 113. 

American Institute of Architects appoints a committee on legislation and recom- 
mends members of Park Coinmission, 8. 

Amsterdam, plan of, 12. 

Anacostia embankment, 1 15. 

Anacostia flats, 11. 

Anacostia, relation of dam to tidal scour, 131. 

Anacostia section, 113. 

Anacostia Park, proposed treatment of, 105, 133-135. 

Analostan Island, 55, 57. 

Aqueduct Bridge, 97. 

Arc de Triomphe de I'Etoile, Paris, 45. 

Arlington, proposed treatment of, 51, 55, 58, 59, 122. 

Arnold Aboretum, Boston, 143. 

Attorney-General refers to Park Commission in annual report, 13. 

Bacher, Otto H., drawings of, 123, 150. 

Bacon, Mr., 123. 

Baer, Mr.,123. 

Bald Eagle Point, 114. 

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, 15, 29; Metropolitan Branch of, 102, 103. 

Baltimore and Potomac Railroad, occupation of Mall by, 14, 29, 43. 

Bathing beach, Washington, 28. 

Bathing places, public, 125. 

Batteries, Parrott, 97; Ricketts, 112; Vermont, 94. 

Beach Drive, 88. 

Berlin, 26. 

Bingham, Col. Theodore A., Corps of Engineers, U. S. A., officer in charge of pub- 
lic buildings and grounds; his plans for the extension of the White House, 63. 

Bladensburg road, 103. 

Blum, Robert, drawings of, 123, 149, 150. 

Bois de Bologne, Paris, 51. 

Boston Metropolitan Park Commission, 28, 127. 

Botanical collections, desirabilty of, 145. 

Botanic Garden, the, 37, 41, 43. 

Broad Branch parkway, 92. 

Brookline, Mass., public baths at, 128. 

Brown, Glenn, his history of the Capitol, 37, 

Buck, L. L. , plans of, for Memorial Bridge, 56. 

Budapest, 15, 26, 70, 83. 

S. Rep. 166 20 173 



174 INDEX. 

Burnham, Daniel H., president Park Commission, 8, 9, 13, 41, 123; architect railroad 
stations at Pittsburg and Washington, 15. 

Burr, Prof. W. H., plans of, for Memorial Bridge, 56. 

Bushy Park, England, ■45. 

Butler, Mr., 123. 

Cabin John Bridge, 96. 

Capitol, the United States, 12, 23; extension of, 24; location of, 37, 47. 

Carlsruhe, plan of, 12. 

Carnegie Library, Washington, 70. 

Cassatt, A. J., president Pennsylvania Railroad, consents to withdraw tracks from 
Mall, 15. 

Cemeteries, character of modern, 58. 

Center Market, Washington, 69. 

Central Park, New York, 45, 103. 

Chapman, Carlton T., drawings of, 123, 150. 

Chesapeake Bay, 25. 

Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, 84. 

Chevy Chase, the suburb of, 91. 

Chief of Engineers, U. S. A., 18, 25. 

Coast and Geodetic Survey, topographical map of the District of Columbia, 16, 77. 

Columbia Institution for Deaf and Dumb, 102, 113. 

Commerce, Department of, 64. 

Commissioners of the District of Columbia refer to the Park Commission in annual 
report, 13. 

Compiegne, palace of, France, 45. 

Conduit road, 95. 

Congress grants Mall site to Baltimore and Potomac Railroad, 15. 

Congress house, name for Capitol, 35. 

Connecticut avenue bridge, 11. 

Constantine, arch of, 30. 

Continental Congress votes statues, 35. 

Corcoran Gallery of Art, 18, 29. 

Corps of Engineers, U. S. A., 14. 

Cox, William v., 63. 

Crow, Mr., his work on Washington plans, 123. 

Cullom, Senator Shelby M., his bill for Lincoln Memorial, 52. 

Curtis, George Carroll, geographical sculptor, models made by, 17, 123, 149. 

DeGersdorff, George, his work on Washington plans, 123, 148. 

District of Columbia militia, 29, 70. 

District of Columbia, Senate Committee on, members of, 2. 

District of Columbia, centennial celebration of the removal of the seat of govern- 
ment to, 7. 

District of Columbia, desirability of comprehensive plan for, 7; list of lands in, 
devoted to public use, 155-165; list of proposed additions to park system of, 167- 
'171; park system under control of Chief of Engineers, 18; topographical features 
of, 14, 75; courts of, 70. 

Dodge, Gen. Grenville M., member Grant Memorial Commission, 41. 

Douglas, E. A., 123. 

Duncklee, John B., letter of. relative to the proposed treatment of Anacostia Park 
133-135. 

Eckington parkway, 101. 

EUicott, Major, makes surveys for the city of Washington, 25. 

Elliott, Mr., work of, 123. 

Elms, use of in Mall, 45. 

Engineer school of application, 117. 



INDEX. 175 

Evening Star, Washington, 14. 

Executive Departments, grouping of buildings of, 28, 63. 

Fillmore, President, extension of Capitol under his charge, 37. 

Fisheries Commission building, 44. 

Fontainebleau, Chateau of, France, 45, 51. 

Forts, Albany, 121; Baker, 112; Bunker Hill, 111; Chaplin, 112; Davis, 112; Du Pont, 

112; Greble, 112; Kemble Park, 97; Mahan, 112; Myer,58; Preble, 114; Reno, 91; 

Sedgwick, 112; Slemmer, 111; Stanton, 112; Stevens, 111; Thayer, 111; Totten, 111. 
Fort Drive, the, 111. 
Fort Reno Park, 93. 
Forum, The, Rome, 27. 
Foundry Branch of Rock Creek, 97. 
Frankfort, Germany, plan of, 12, 26. 

French, Daniel Chester, sculptor, member of the Grant Memoi'ial jury, 41. 
Gage, Lyman J., Secretary of the Treasury, 25. 
Gaillard, Capt. D. D., Corps Engineers U. S. A., 56. 
Gallager, Percival, drawings of, 123, 147. 
Gallagher, Sears, drawings o-f, 123, 147. 

Gallinger, Senator Jacob H., member Subcommittee on Park Investigation, 10. 
Garden of the Tuilleries, Paris, 45. 
Georgetown parks, 97. 
Georgetown, 58. 
Georgetown College, 97. 
Georgetown Harbor, 84, 86. 
Georgetown Observatory, 97. 
Githens, Mr., work of, 123. 
Giesboro parkway, 114. 

Government Hospital for the Insane, 105, 113. 
Graham, Charles, drawings of, 123, 147. 
Grant memorial {see also Union square), 41; location of, 42. 
Great Falls of the Potomac, 1 7, 96. 
Guerin, Jules, drawings of, 123, 149, 150. 
Hains, Col. Peter, Corps of Engineers, U. S. A., reports of, in favor of Memorial Bridge, 

55, 121. 
Hall of Records, 29. 
Hampton Court, England, 51. 
Harewood road, 100. 
Harmon, Mr., work of, 123. 

Hatfield House, seat of the Marquis of Salisbury, 45. 
Hill, James G., member of the Memorial Bridge jury, 56. 
Hillside Reservation, 113. 
Hoban, James, architect of White House, 63. 
Hoppin, F. L., drawings of, 123, 148. 
House of Representatives, office building for, 38. 
Howard Park, 101. 
Howard University, 101. 
Howard University reservoir, 101. 

Hutton, William R., competitor for Memorial Bridge plans, 56. 
Inauguration of President, accommodations for, 70. 
Interior, Department of the, 64, 70. 
James River, 25. 

Jefferson, Thomas, supervises plan of Washington, 12, 19, 25, 26. 
Johnson, Mr., drawings of, 123. 
Justice, Department of, 64. 



176 INDEX. 

Kaiser, C. S., drawings of, 123. 

Langdon, James G., in charge of the drafting of maps for Park Commission, 123. 

L'Enfant, Maj. Peter Charles, 12, 13, 25, 26, 35, 36, 37, 39; his plan of the Mall, 43; his 
plan of Washington, 10,11; custody of plan, 25; invasions of plan, 9, 39; use of 
water shown in plan, 28. 

Lenotre, Andre, French landscape architect, 12, 25, 27. 

Library of Congress, 17, 18, 38, 39. 

Lincoln avenue, 101. 

Lincoln Memorial, 51, 57, 83; action of Congress on, 52. 

Little River, 55. 

London, 15, 25, 26, 77. 

Long Bridge, 117. 

Lopez, Charles A., 41. 

Louvre, palace of, 45. 

McCarter, Henry, drawings of, 123, 149, 150. 

McCleary, Hon. James T., member of Lincoln Memorial Commission, 52. 

McKim, Charles F., member of Park Commission, 8, 13, 41; plans White House res- 
toration, 65, 123. 

McKinley, President William, urges building Memorial Bridge, 55. 

McMillan, Senator James, report of, on park system of the District of Columbia to 
Senate, 7; states District of Columbia problem to Park Commission, 10. 

Mall, the, 10, 29, 35; changes in, 23; development of, 17; proposed plan for, 43. 

Margaretten-Insel, Budapest, 118. 

Market, proposed character of, 70. 

Martin, Senator Thomas S., member Subcommittee on Park Plans, 10. 

Massachusetts avenue bridge, 11. 

Memorial Bridge, 51, 55, 122; preparation of plans for, 56; recommendations of Park 
Commission concerning, 56; action of Senate on, 55. 

Merritt, Maj. Gen. Wesley M., member of the Grant Memorial jury, 41. 

Merz, Mr., designs model of monument garden, 17, 123. 

Michigan avenue, 101. 

Milan, plan of, 12. 

Military road, 88. 

Miller, Burr C, 41. 

Minor reservations, treatment of, 79. 

Morris, Mr., 123. 

Morrison, George S., engineer, 56. 

Mount Hamilton Park, 103. 

Mount Hamilton parkway, 103. 

Mount Olivet Cemetery, 103. 

Mount Vernon, 17, 121. 

Mount ^'^ernon Association, 122. 

Mount Vernon road, 121. 

Mundy, Mr., 123. 

Municipal building, 29, 69; location of, 70. 

Municipal Hospital, 99. 

National Museum, 44. 

National Zoological Park, establishment of, 10. 

Naval Observatory, 56, 97; grounds of, 98. 

Nebraska avenue, 92. ^ 

New Cut road, 97. 

New York City, 77; botanical garden in, 143. 

Nichols avenue, 113. 

Niehaus, Charles Henry, 41; character of his work on design for Grant Memorial, 42. 



INDEX. 177 

North Capitol street, opportunity for triumphal arch on, 101. 

Officer in charge of public buildings and grounds, 14. 

Old Hadley, Massachusetts, 45. 

Olmsted, Frederick Law, jr., member of Park Commission, 8, 13, 123. 

Orleans, plan of, 12. 

Outhet, K. A., work of, on i>ark plans, 123. 

Pantheon, proposed, 50. 

Paris; 12, 15, 26, 70, 77, 83. 

Park Commission appointed, 8; problem stated to, 10; visit to Europe, 15; compre- 
hensive character of plans of, 16; consulted as to architect for Department of 
Agriculture building, 13; report of, 23; recommendation of as to public buildings, 28; 
list of drawings, designs and models illustrating the report of, 147-154. 

Park system of Washington, character of, 75; the larger parks and their connec- 
tions, 83; law governing, 18; need for additional parks, 77. 

Partridge, William T., work of, on Washington plans, 123. 

Patent Office, 64. 

Patterson Park, 102. 

Pennsylvania avenue, treatment of area south of, 29, 69. 

Pension Office, 70. 

Piney Branch, 99. 

Place de la Concorde, Paris, 42. 

Playgrounds, 49, 79. 

Post-Office Department, 64. 

Potomac Di'ive, 94. 

Potomac Flats, 24; improvement of, 10, 36, 77. 

Potomac Park, 11, 51, 56, 83, 117. 

Potomac quay, 83. 

President's house, 12. 

President's palace, 35. 

Public baths and gymnasiums, 28. 

Public buildings, Lafayette square suitable for, 28; location of, 28; need of new, 24. 

Receiving reservoir, 94. 

Reform School, 108, 113. 

Revere Beach, Massachusetts, 28, 127. 

Rhind, J. Massey, sculptor, 41. 

Richardson, Hon. James D., member of Lincoln Memorial Commission, 52. 

Richmond, Ya., swimming basin at, 125. 

Riverside Drive, Washington, 51. 

Riverside Drive, New York, 95. 

Rock Creek Park, 11, 88, 99; purchase of, 10. 

Rock Creek parkway, treatment of, 85. 

Rock Creek, section east of, 99; section west of, 91; system of parks, 51; valley of, 11; 
alternative plans for treatment of, 137. 

Rodeman, Mr., 123. 

Rome, 15-26; fountains of, 27. 

Roosevelt, President, 65. 

Root, Hon. Elihu, Secretary of War, 41; member of Lincoln Memorial Commission, 
52. 

Ross, A. R., drawings of, 123, 148. 

Rossell, Captain, Corps of Engineers, U. S. A., report of as to treatment of Rock 
Creek, 137, 138. 

Roth, F. G. R., 41. 

St. Gaudens, Augustus, member of Park Commission, 9, 13, 41, 123. 

St. Peter's, Rome, 27. 



178 INDEX. 

Savannah street boulevard, 99. 

Sohonbrunn, palace of, 45. 

Schofield, Lieut. Gen. J. M., member Grant Memorial jury, 41. 

Shaw Botanical Garden, St. Louis, 148. 

Shephard, Mr., 123. 

Shepherds Landing, 115. 

Sheridan avenue, 113, 114. 

Sheridan, Gen. Philip H., statue of, 41. 

Sherman, Gen. William T., statue of, 41. 

Shrady, Herwin Merwin, sculptor, wins competition for Grant Memorial, 41. 

Shuters Hill, 121. 

Smithsonian Institution, 43; Secretary of, 14. 

Soapstone parkway, 92. 

Soldiers' Home, 11, 93, 99, 100. 

Soldiers' Home cemetery, 58. 

Spring Bank Run, 121. 

State, War, and Navy building, 39. 

Stickfoot Creek parkway, 113. 

Story, Waldo, sculptor, 41. 

Strasburg, plan of, 12. 

Supervising Architect of Treasury, 13. 

Supreme Court building, 38. 

Symons, Maj. Thomas W., Corps of Engineers, U. S. A., report of, on Memorial 

Bridge, 55, 56. 
Tenley circle, 91 . 
Tiber Creek, 40. 

Tittmann, Otto H., Superintendent Coast and Geodetic Survey, 14. 
Treasury building, 39. 
Treasury, Secretary of, 13. 
Trevi, fountain of, Rome, 27. 
Trueblood, Mr., 123. 
Turin, plan of, 12. 

Thornton, William, architect of Capitol, 37, 40. 

LTnited States Senate, resolution of, relative to improvement of park system, 7. 
LTnion Square, 41. 
Union Station, 15, 16, 29, 44. 

Vaux-le-Vicomte, chateau of, near Melun, France. 45; fountains of, 27. 
Venice, 15, 26. 

Versailles, palace of, 27, 45, 51. 
Vienna, 15, 26, 83. 

Virginia palisades of the Potomac, 97. 
Walker, Mr., 123. 

Walter, Thomas U., architect of extension of the Capitol, 37. 
War College, 117. 

War, Secretary of, refers to report of Park Commission in annual report, 13. 
Water, consumption of, in the District of Columbia, 28. 
Washington, as a capital city, 25; its advantage over other cities, 39; planned under 

supervision of Washington and Jefferson, 12; climatic condition of, 26,76; defenses 

of, during civil war, 79; local government of, 14. 
Washington, Alexandria, and Mount Vernon Railroad, 117. 
Washington Barracks, 105, 117. 
Washington Board of Trade, 8, 85, 137. 
Washington channel, 10. 
Washington common, the, 49. 



INDEX. 179 

Washington embankment, 117. 

Washington market, 29. 

Washington, George, 13, 19, 25, 35, 37, 39, 52; supervises plan of Washington, 12. 

Washington Monument. 10; model of, 17; as work of art, 24; beginnings of, 35; pro- 
posed treatment of, 47. 

Washington Star, the, 43. 

Webster, Daniel, first mentions Memorial Bridge, 55. 

AVeekes, Mr., 123. 

Wetmore, Senator George Peabody, member Grant Memorial Commission, 41; mem- 
ber of Lincoln Memorial Commission, 52. 

White House, 23,35,39,47; improvement of, 36; occupied Ijy President and Mrs. 
John Adams, 63. 

White Lot, 29, 42, 49. 

White, Stanford, member of Memorial Bridge jury, 56. 

Williamsburg, Va. , 45. 

Windsor Great Park, 45. 

Wisconsin avenue, 93. 

Yuma street, 93. 

Zoological park, 87. 



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